Chasing memories
by gooseberry21
Summary: Elena wakes up in the hospital, badly hurt and with no memory. What if she only remembers the one thing she shouldn't remember?
1. Chapter 1

_I know that there are a lot of similar stories out there, but I just had to write this down. I hope you enjoy it! Again: I'm not a native English speaker, so I am sorry for any mistakes I made. Thank you for reviewing! The next chapter will be up soon..._

**Chasing memories**

_Strangers in my room_

Elena. She definitely liked the name. It was soft and had a certain melody to it. Her problem, however, was that the name didn't sound familiar. Yet one had told her that it was her name. Just like the nurses had told her that she had a brother called Jeremy and an aunt called Jenna. When she had asked about her parents, the only answer she had gotten was a worried, grave look and "They are dead since quite some time, darling." This should have devastated her, but nothing around her seemed real and so she couldn't bring herself to really care. Maybe the numbness was also caused by the pain in her back, which took every ounce of strength away from her. And still the nurses and doctors only talked about a miraculous recovery. From what she had gathered, she understood that no one had believed she would make it through. Yet here she was, with no memory about her life and a back that was driving tears into her eyes every time she tried to move.

So far, she hadn't had many visitors. In fact, Jenna and Jeremy were the only reminders of the fact that she was a real person with a real life. Still, her family had only been in her room twice. Jeremy had smiled at her and told her that she would be all right. He seemed like the perfect brother, goodhearted and slightly protective. Jenna had always been on the brink of tears and was apparently unable to utter a word in the presence of her niece. However, Jeremy had assured her that she was usually quite the talkative person.

"She was so unbelievably scared to lose you, Elena. She's still in shock."

Both times, Elena wanted to ask how and why she had been hurt so badly, but as if her visitors could sense the upcoming question, they had disappeared before she could say anything. Similarly, the doctors and nurses denied her an answer every time she asked.

Why were they all so keen to keep her in the dark? What were they hiding from her? These and more questions whirled through Elena's head all day long. With every passing day, her frustration grew more and more to a point where she felt aggressive and angry towards every single person coming through the door. She started snapping at the doctors, yelling at the nurses and refused any form of cooperation when the physiotherapist came by.

It was a week after she'd woken up, that everything finally changed. The change was brought upon by a visitor. The young man was sitting on the side of her bed, when she woke up from a nap one afternoon. The closeness of the stranger scared her at first, but she didn't scream like any normal person probably would have. Maybe she was just too used to having strangers around her by now. So, as soon as her heart rate had slowed down again, she asked:

"Who are you?"

His green eyes bore into hers and she saw a cloud of pain and hurt overshadowing them. Still he answered:

"Hello Elena. I'm Stefan. Your boyfriend."

Elena couldn't help herself as she sharply drew in her breath and slightly moved away from the man. This was clearly not the reaction he had been hoping for and seeing that he had scared her, he lifted himself from her bed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so blunt. I just thought that maybe you would remember…"

Elena felt like the waves of disappointment emanating from him would choke her.

"Don't apologize. All I seem to be able to do lately, is let people down."

Her voice sounded cold and hard even in her own ears. But what was she to think? The young man didn't seem to be much older than her, he was definitely very good-looking and his face spoke of kindness and warmth. And yet, shouldn't she feel something in his presence? Shouldn't she feel the connection she apparently had with Stefan? Elena reminded herself that she didn't even feel connected to her own name, but that still didn't erase her doubts. Elena's train of thoughts was interrupted by Stefan, who whispered:

"I am sure you will remember everything soon. You just need to give it some time."

Before she let the anger rise up in her once again, Elena asked in a pleading voice:

"Can you tell me what happened? This ignorance is driving me crazy!"

He carefully closed the distance between them and said, while shaking his head:

"I am so sorry, Elena. The doctors believe that it's best for you to remember that on your own. The memory will come back when you're ready for it."

Stefan didn't know how lucky he was, when the physiotherapist chose this exact moment to interrupt the visit. Elena was sure that she would have strangled him otherwise. As Stefan took his leave, he promised her that he would come back soon. Elena only nodded and as soon as the door was closed behind him, she let the tears fall freely. She couldn't take the vast amounts of hurt anymore – physically and emotionally she was a complete wreck. After sobbing for hours, sleep finally overtook her. Sleep had been her comforting companion over the last days – she could forget the pain, the white walls of the hospital, the smell of the disinfectants and the fact that she felt like a nobody. Sleep was the only escape out of her personal hell. However, this time her usually dreamless sleep was interrupted by a very vivid dream.

In her dream, she was standing in a bathroom, brushing her teeth. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and saw an exhausted, young girl with long chocolate brown hair and dark eyes. As she made her way to some kind of bedroom, she jumped slightly at the sight of a young man sitting on the window sill. He was dressed entirely in black, his clothes matching his raven black hair. What startled her most about him, though, were his piercing blue eyes and the shadow of a smile enlightening his face. Just as she was about to ask herself who this unbelievably beautiful man was, she heard him say, his voice teasing:

"Cute pjs."

Her dream-self didn't seem to find this amusing and this time she felt her own lips move:

"I'm tired Damon."

The dismissive comment didn't seem to bother the intruder, who stood up and began walking toward her, holding up a necklace. He said, still smiling:

"I brought you this."

Her own voice rang through the room once again, evidently full of surprise:

"I thought that was gone."

Elena realized that the necklace must be of importance to her dream-self and she breathed:

"Thank you."

She reached for the necklace, but the one named Damon pulled it back towards himself. Suddenly the entire atmosphere in the room changed and she felt alarm and slight fear sipping through her body:

"Please give it back."

Damon looked at her, his face pained:

"I just have to say something."

He had invaded her personal space by now and a scent of leather, alcohol and something indefinably wild clouded her mind. The voice of dream-self was shaking when she asked:

"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?"

"Well…because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."

The young man was clearly losing whatever battle he was fighting with himself. Even though Elena didn't know him, she realized that he was making himself more vulnerable than he ever had before. She realized that she could break him, right there. She felt another wave of fear invading her and pleaded:

"Damon, don't go there."

His mind, however, was set:

"I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it. I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that….I can't be selfish with you. And why you can't know this, I don't deserve you. But my brother does."

Elena couldn't take her eyes away from him as she listened to the heartfelt words spilling out of him. It was at this moment, that she felt something boil up in her – something she had repressed for a long time. Before she could pursue the nature of it, Damon leaned towards her as if he was going to kiss her. Later, she would have to admit to herself that she wouldn't have refused him the kiss. However, he only pressed his lips against her forehead for the fraction of a second and whispered, his voice hoarse:

"God, I wish you didn't have to forget this." His hand caressed her cheek: "But you do."

The last thing Elena saw before she woke up, was a tear escaping from his perfect blue eyes.

Elena jerked up and gasped for air, as if she had been holding her breath during the entire dream. She was bathed in sweat and slowly she looked around herself, checking if everything was still the way it had been before she had fallen asleep. At first sight, nothing had changed – the walls were still irritatingly white, the hospital smell was still nauseating and the machines were still beeping every few seconds. Then it suddenly dawned on her: the morning sun was greeting her through the closed curtains. How was it possible that she had slept for such a long time? She could have sworn not to have slept more than an hour or two.

However, the realization of the even bigger change only hit her a minute later. She was sitting in her bed! She should have been lying on the floor by now, unconscious because of the excruciating pain. Instead, her back felt great. In fact, she was suddenly able to move all her body parts without restraint. She flexed her muscles in wonder and quickly dismissed the idea of having to thank the physiotherapist for performing a miracle. But then, how was this overnight recovery possible? She wondered shortly whether she was still dreaming, but then decided that everything felt much too real.

After racking her brain to no success, Elena sank back into her bed and made the decision to just block out everything for the time being. She would ask the doctors later if they had found a way to heal her in a matter of hours. For now, she absolutely wanted to remember the dream that had put all her emotions into turmoil. Was it even a dream? Or was it a memory? Parts of it felt so real, that she had no doubt about it being a piece out of her past. Other parts, however, just felt like they would have never happened that way in real life. What, for example, had Damon meant by saying that she had to forget? It had seemed like he wanted to erase the memory of his confession – that was impossible, though. The next thought whirling around her mind was, whether she knew the young handsome man who had confessed his love to her. Damon. The name in itself bore a certain resemblance to the word "demon". Elena shook her head: the broken man of her dream/memory had nothing of a monster in him. Who was this brother he had been talking about? The brother who apparently deserved her, while he didn't. Was he possibly talking about Stefan? The emptiness inside her head was so frustrating that Elena felt like throwing something against the wall.

At the moment, Damon was the only link to her past. Of course there were Jenna, Jeremy and Stefan, who all claimed to have been a big part of her life, but having no memory of them made it hard for her to be around them. Elena's mind was set: she had to find out more about the man she had met in her dream. She had to find out, if he was real. She quickly realized that asking Stefan about him was not an option. If they were indeed brothers, then it would surely not be a good thing to tell Stefan about the dream/memory. She could, however, ask Jeremy if he had any useful information. Now that she had a strategy in mind on how to proceed, Elena let herself relax, closing her eyes once again, waiting for the nurses to bring breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

_First of all, thank you so much for all your reviews! I hope not to disappoint too many of you, but I am not going to get into the whole sacrifice storyline too much. This is only my second fanfiction and I want to keep it simple for now. Anyway, this is the second chapter – I hope you like it (I am kind of nervous now)! No Delena yet, but there will be soon…_

**Chasing memories**

_I__cecold blue eyes_

All morning, Elena's room had been the main attraction of the whole hospital. It felt like every staff member had to ensure themselves personally that the rumors about Elena's miraculous recovery were indeed true. After her back had been examined by more doctors than she could count, Elena felt exhausted and slightly depressed. The only person she wanted to see at the moment was her brother Jeremy, instead she got to see one lab coat after the next. As the nurses brought her lunch, she pleaded:

"Could you call my aunt and my brother? I really would like for them to visit me this afternoon."

"We already did, darling. If you are up for it, you may even go home tomorrow. It could help you to regain your memory."

Elena felt relief wash over her and still, she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed when hearing of her upcoming discharge. Going home meant that she would have to face the life that apparently belonged to her. Would she like everything she would find? She reminded herself that for now it was only important to find out whether she was really starting to regain her memory. Elena felt like the clock had stopped moving and became increasingly nervous and agitated while waiting for her visitors. Finally the door opened and she was greeted by two smiling faces.

"Elena! We heard the wonderful news."

Her aunt squealed and sprinted across the room to envelop her niece into a hug. Jeremy was right behind her, a grin stretching across his face. Elena couldn't help herself and remarked:

"This is the first time I've heard you speak, Jenna."

"I know, I'm sorry, Elena. It's just…I am so relieved. Did you hear that they're letting you out of here?"

Elena only nodded as she wondered why her family wasn't asking the one question that had kept everyone on their toes all morning: how was it possible that her wounds had healed so quickly? Before she got a chance to voice her confusion, Jeremy asked:

"Elena, aren't you excited?"

Realizing that she hadn't answered with the appropriate enthusiasm to her aunt's question, Elena quickly corrected her mistake. She let a smile cross her features and reassured them that she couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. Then she took up the courage to ask:

"Jenna, would you mind letting me talk to Jeremy alone for a second? I know that this sounds weird, but –"

Before she could continue babbling, her aunt interrupted her, telling her that it wasn't a problem. Still smiling like Elena had just woken up from the dead, Jenna rushed out of the room. Elena turned away from Jeremy's questioning glance and nervously started fidgeting with her hands. All of the sudden her mind was filled with doubts, doubts about her own sanity. Was she really planning on asking her brother, who she didn't really know, about a freaky dream? Maybe the fact that she hadn't seen anything other than the four walls of this room for days, had just made her imagination go into overload. At this point, everything was possible. Finally, she stammered:

"So, there was a guy here yesterday. He…uh…he said his name is Stefan."

Jeremy pulled a chair towards the side of her bed and got comfortable:

"Oh, right, yes. He's been bugging everyone for days, because he absolutely wanted to visit you. The doctors didn't want him to see you, because they feared it would be too much. Yesterday, they finally gave in. I think they were sick of seeing him brood in the hallway every afternoon."

He snickered lightly, but immediately turned serious again when he saw the distress in Elena's eyes.

"So he's my boyfriend?"

"Yes, he is. You guys have been together for about a year, I think."

Elena saw that Jeremy's features were suddenly mirroring a certain uneasiness as if there was much more to the story than he led on. This sparked Elena's curiosity and before she could stop herself, the words spluttered out of her:

"Does he have a brother?"

Jeremy couldn't have looked more surprised at her question. His eyes wide, he breathed:

"Yes, he does. How did you know, Elena? Was Damon here, too?"

"His name is Damon?"

The emotions boiling up in Elena at the confirmation that the man she had dreamed of was indeed real, were indescribable. She felt hot and cold at the same time, she felt tingles all over her body and she had the sudden need to scream out of joy. She was starting to remember. She was not crazy. Trying to calm herself, she turned her attention back to her brother. Jeremy was still staring at her and only when she nudged him lovingly, he said:

"Yes, his name is Damon. When did you meet him?"

"I didn't. I remember him. I mean, I have one memory. And he happens to be part of that memory. But Jeremy, please don't tell anyone that. Especially not Stefan! Do you understand?"

She couldn't have confused Jeremy more if she had wanted to. He only shook his head, words apparently completely escaping him by now. Finally he managed to whisper:

"You are starting to remember. The doctors said…"

Elena interrupted him impatiently:

"The doctors in this hospital are more than weird. They can't even explain how my back healed so quickly. They must have done something though, right?"

Elena sighed and continued:

"Can you tell me about him?"

Jeremy immediately knew who she meant. He looked like he wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible, but still he followed her request:

"Damon is a very complicated person, Elena. You and Damon are friends, but I have to warn you that there were times where you absolutely hated him. Somehow, though, you were never able to stay mad at him for a long time. You seem to understand him better than most people do, well anyone really."

"Is he handsome?"

"Seriously, Elena? You're asking your brother whether your boyfriend's brother is handsome. This is so wrong…I can't believe I'm even answering your question. If you must know, as far as I've heard, girls are crazy about him."

Elena smiled at this, now finally content. She could at last be sure that the perfect picture her mind had drawn of him was probably close to the truth. With that, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, the day's excitement having drawn every last amount of energy out of her.

And so Elena never noticed the young man with the green eyes, standing just behind the door, which Jenna had left ajar. Very much opposite to the face of his girlfriend, which was framed by a peaceful smile, Stefan looked horrified. Soon, the terror in his eyes was however replaced by a dangerous and lethal glow.

Stefan had to keep himself from tearing the living room apart while he was waiting for his brother to come home. The glass of whiskey in his hand was shaking dangerously and the antique rug under his feet looked worn out from all the pacing. He had threatened Damon multiple times in the last days to stay away from Elena. The way he saw it, Damon was the reason why she had ended up in the hospital in the first place. Every night the sight of the almost lifeless Elena in his arms tormented him. If only Damon hadn't felt the need to tell Elena about the deal with Katherine. Stefan shook his head in rage, because he should have known that Damon wouldn't stop at anything to ruin his relationship with Elena.

Damon had to stay out of Elena's life before he got the chance to get into her head once more. Stefan grunted furiously at the thought of Damon's blood running through Elena's veins right this moment. That was after all the only explanation for her sudden recovery. On top of it all his brother's blood had made her remember something about Damon. She remembered his psychopath of a brother, but not her boyfriend. Maybe Damon had not only compelled Elena to drink his blood, but also to remember a nonexistent memory of him. The fact that Stefan didn't know any details about that famous memory was unnerving him endlessly.

During the accident, Elena had lost her necklace filled with vervain and since then she had been unprotected. Stefan realized that this had been a big mistake on his part. Damon chose this moment to interrupt Stefan's guilt-trip. The young man strolled through the door, whistling some unknown tune and throwing his leather jacket over a chair. The satisfied smirk on his face vanished only for a second at the sight of Stefan in the middle of the parlor.

"Well, Steffie, what's up? You look like the bunnies decided to pull a prank on you today. Did they finally start a revolt against this town's serial-killer?"

The disdain and carelessness in his voice were like fuel to Stefan's anger. He sped towards Damon and threw him against the opposite wall, a monstrous scream escaping his mouth.

"How dare you, Damon? I told you to stay away from her! What part of 'I'm going to put a stake through your heart, if you approach her again' wasn't clear enough for you?"

Damon was noticeably unimpressed and freed himself effortlessly from his brother's grip around his throat. Massaging his neck, he answered:

"First of all, little brother: I apparently need to remind you that you are drinking nasty bunny blood while I am drinking the real stuff. So don't think threatening me is going to make me pee my pants. Second: I'm not sure whether you noticed, but she was suffering. There was this really cute nurse and she eagerly told me about how badly Elena was doing. Apparently your blood didn't entirely do the job. If you think her back would have healed anytime soon, than you are even more brain-dead than I thought. And now, I am going upstairs to take a nap – dealing with a pubescent brother is awfully tiring."

With those words, Damon stepped away from the wall and headed towards the carafe filled with Bourbon. Stefan was however far from satisfied and charged once again for the other vampire. Damon seemed to have expected this reaction and punched his brother's face with inhuman speed. He used the few seconds, where Stefan lay unconsciously on the floor, to pour himself a glass of alcohol.

"I don't understand you, little brother. I took her pain away. Shouldn't you be worshiping the ground I walk on, out of gratitude?"

Damon had known that Stefan would find out about his nightly activity. He had known that it would drive them even further apart. And still, he hadn't been able to stop himself, maybe because he felt guilty. He didn't really know why his conscience was giving him such a hard time. It was after all Stefan, who was to blame for the whole disaster. Maybe he just couldn't stand seeing Elena this weak and fragile, after all he liked her company so much because she was strong and unbreakable. The least he could do for her, was to take the physical pain away.

There was enough pain waiting for her as soon as she would regain her memory. Damon cringed at the thought of Elena finding out how seriously messed up her life was. He definitely didn't want to be anywhere near her the moment everything would come back to her. Then again, he missed her. So, maybe he would even deal with a depressed and devastated Elena just to be able to talk to her. The last days had been hard as he'd forced himself to stay away from her. First of all, things between him and his brother were bad enough. Second, he didn't want to overwhelm Elena. And third, he kind of did feel guilty. Yesterday, however, he had thrown all the good intentions out the window and had visited her at night. In the end, he had been unable to stand the fact that Elena had become such a shadow of her former self. This had resulted in his blood donation to her.

While the Salvatore brothers had been fighting for dominance at the Boarding House, Elena had woken up from her nap. She quickly found out that her visitors had already left. Dr. Cheesyfakesmile – that wasn't his actual name, but Elena had, in her boredom, invented surnames for everyone – had told her that Jenna would be back in the morning to pick her up. After her talk with Jeremy, all the reluctance she had felt at the idea of going home had disappeared. Now that the first step in remembering was done, she was sure that new memories were waiting just around the corner.


	3. Chapter 3

_Ok, here's the next chapter...I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you enjoy it aswell! Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews! _

**Chasing memories**

_Fateful meeting_

The next morning, Jenna blew into Elena's room with an incomparable enthusiasm and before she knew it, she was sitting in the car on her way home. Home, whatever that meant. Elena stared out of the window trying to find anything or anyone familiar while they were driving through Mystic Falls. It seemed to be a nice small town, the streets filled with people and laughter. Elena observed everything in silence and was glad that Jenna left her in peace. Eventually they pulled up to a white house, standing in the middle of a beautiful yard. Elena found that she liked it straightaway. The entire house radiated an atmosphere of life, warmth and openness. As soon as they entered through the front door, Jeremy came storming down the stairs and hugged his sister fiercely.

"Come on, Elena. I'll show you around."

He took her hand and within minutes, she had seen the light-flooded kitchen, the comfortable living room and her brother's cramped room. At last, they were standing in front of the door leading to her own bedroom. Elena felt slight fear rise up in her once again. Was she going to see the room of her memory? Was this the place where Damon had told her about his love for her? She looked up to Jeremy who eyed her curiously and gave him an uncertain smile:

"Well then, this is it, huh?"

"Just turn the knob, Elena. You're room is not that scary."

Her brother gave her an encouraging nod and so Elena finally entered the room, in which she had apparently spent a great deal of her life in. It was the room. The room she had remembered. A huge smile spread across her face as she took in every detail. There was the window sill Damon had been sitting on. There was the door to the bathroom she had seen herself in. She approached the dresser standing in the corner and scanned the pictures attached to the mirror above it. In some of them she saw herself surrounded by two girls, one with blonde, curly hair and another one with olive-brown skin and sparkling eyes.

Jeremy pointed to a picture showing a young girl and a boy playing in the living room.

"That's us. You were five, I think. I must have been three years old."

He continued, his voice suddenly hollow:

"These are mom and dad. They died in a car accident a year ago. They were wonderful people."

Elena only nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she took in the man and the woman smiling at her like everything was all right. She choked:

"I hate it. I hate that I don't remember them."

Jeremy squeezed her shoulder, silently communicating that he understood her and that he was there for her. Elena tore her eyes away from the painful picture and fixed another one, showing her and Stefan, looking blissfully into the camera. She felt a pang of guilt upon realizing how in love they must have been. She hadn't seen Stefan since his awkward visit at the hospital and knew that she should probably try to talk to him.

"Does Stefan live nearby?"

"Well, he and Damon live in the old Boarding House on the outskirts of the town. Are you planning on going to see him?"

All of the sudden visiting Stefan seemed like the perfect idea to Elena. Not only would she be able to talk to him, but maybe she would also finally meet Damon.

"Do you think you could drive me over there?", she asked Jeremy, giving him a pleading look.

He laughed at her vain attempt to hide her excitement and agreed:

"Let's eat something before we go. Aren't you looking forward to get some real food after all that junk they tried to make you eat at the hospital?"

When they finally arrived at the Boarding House an hour later, it was already afternoon. Shafts of sunlight illuminated the old house and made it look even more impressive. Elena felt intrigued by the aura of mystery and secrets, the house was spreading. She quickly thanked Jeremy for giving her a ride and assured him that she would be all right on her own. After making her promise that she would be back for dinner, he finally left. Elena approached the front door, feeling the knots in her stomach grow. She knocked feebly and was just about to give it another try, when the door was opened.

"Elena!"

Stefan looked at her, the shock at seeing her clearly overweighing the surprise. Elena couldn't tell if he was happy to see her, but somehow she immediately got the feeling not to be welcome.

"Hello Stefan. I, uh, Jeremy gave me a ride. I was wondering whether we could talk."

The thought that coming over here maybe hadn't been such a good idea after all, passed through her head. She was just about to apologize for not having called before visiting, when Stefan seemed to remember his good manners.

"Yes, of course. Come in. It's really a surprise to see you. I mean, I knew you were getting out of the hospital today. But I didn't think you wanted to be bothered, so...anyway, yeah, come in."

He moved aside and Elena stepped into a dimly lit vestibule full of antique furniture. An essence of old books and wood hit Elena as she slowly stepped towards a huge parlor. She took everything in, her eyes scanning the interior in wonder. She turned around and expressed her admiration:

"This is a beautiful home, Stefan. I really like it."

Stefan, holding his hands behind his back, looked at her warmly.

"You've spent a lot of time here in the last months."

"I know this is hard for you, Stefan. I mean, you have all these memories of us, while I don't remember anything. I am trying…I don't want to hurt you."

Stefan didn't seem to have expected this, especially in the light of her detached attitude during his visit at the hospital. His eyes were full of gratitude and he closed the distance between them, taking her hands into his.

"I know that. Don't strain yourself trying to remember. In the meantime, let's just get to know each other again."

Elena, who wasn't comfortable with such closeness yet, squeezed his hands and let them go. She walked away and continued her investigation of the house. She let her fingers trail over the hundreds of books stored in the shelves along the wall, she admired the high ceiling and at last sat down on the soft red couch standing in the middle of the room. She decided it was time to ask the one question she had wanted to ask since she had entered the house:

"So, do you live here all by yourself?"

Stefan's eyebrows shot in the air as he knew exactly what she was getting at. He had been so happy to see that Elena was doing well, but he wished she wouldn't have come over. Once again all his plans to keep her away from his brother had been destroyed. He knew that Damon was somewhere in the vast house, listening to their conversation. He would surely make his presence known sooner or later and so Stefan didn't have a choice but to answer:

"I live here with my brother, Damon. Our parents are dead since a long time."

Elena looked at him sympathetically, the pain of seeing her own parents in the photograph still fresh.

"I'm sorry about your parents."

Stefan only gave her a short nod and sat down next to her. An oppressive silence came over them and Elena combed her hair back uncomfortably, before she continued:

"So is your brother older than you?"

Stefan's eyes were fixed on an old painting as he answered:

"Yes, he is."

Unnerved by his sudden reluctance to share details, Elena persisted:

"Is he here?"

Stefan's patience had a limit and before he thought it through, he said, unable to hide the anger in his voice:

"You seem very interested in him."

"Well, why wouldn't she be, brother?"

Elena jumped up from where she had been sitting on the sofa, whirling around to look for the source of the voice. There he was. Damon was leaning against the door frame like he had been standing there all along. Elena's feet were moving of their own accord as she approached him slowly. Like in her memory he was wearing a black shirt and like in her memory his blue eyes were of such intensity that she blushed under his stare. She breathed:

"Damon!"

At the sound of his name out of her mouth, a smile crept on his face and he closed the distance between them in a few quick steps. All of the sudden, everything around Elena dissolved into nothingness. She only saw him and before she realized what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck. Damon's body went rigid for a second, as was clearly surprised by her impulsive reaction. But soon he relaxed and his arms embraced her waist. He chuckled softly and whispered into her ear:

"Well hello Elena. I missed you, too."

Elena buried her head into his chest, breathing in his scent. She could hardly believe that he was finally standing in front of her, flesh and blood. The shots of electricity running through her body felt absolutely amazing. She hadn't felt this alive since she had woken up.

It was only when Stefan cleared his throat loudly, that Elena recalled that they were not alone. Her cheeks by now crimson red, she quickly unwound herself from the embrace and took a few steps back. Ashamed of her lack of self-control, Elena didn't dare to look at either one of the brothers. Her hope that they would both ignore what had just happened was crushed by Damon, who said smugly:

"That was quite the warm welcome. Do you throw yourself at every stranger you come across?"

As Elena was racking her brain for an appropriate answer, she wished the ground would just swallow her up right there. What could she say to get herself out of this situation? Why did she have to hug him? No matter how much she regretted her actions now, the embrace had felt warm, safe and oddly familiar. Suddenly a bolt of pain shot through her brain, forcing Elena to the ground.

Next thing Elena knew she was sitting on the red couch again, however this time, she was alone in the parlor. She was also dressed differently, now wearing a blue sweatshirt. She was apparently waiting for someone, as her eyes were fixed on the vestibule. Suddenly the front door opened and Damon appeared. He seemed to be taken aback by her presence and said, his voice unmistakably cold:

"You were supposed to leave."

He looked exhausted and a pang of sorrow passed through Elena at his sight. What had happened causing the young man to act like this? Being used by now to her body parts moving on their own free will, she wasn't surprised to hear her voice declaring:

"I did. And then I came back to make sure that you're okay."

Elena reached for a glass filled with Bourbon standing on a table beside the couch. She had obviously prepared it for him, maybe hoping that the alcohol would calm him. Damon took it gratefully and emptied the glass in one gulp.

"I appreciate the gesture. I'm just glad it's over."

His careless attitude didn't fool her and she replied at once:

"You know I don't believe that."

The anger in him was now taking over as he snapped, tilting his head in the direction of the door:

"Go home, Elena. Get some rest. It's a whole new day tomorrow."

Elena didn't let herself be turned away that easily, though. She knew that this was his way of dealing with his hurt. She softly tried to reach him by reminding him of their friendship.

"Damon, I'm your friend."

He was too far gone to acknowledge her attempt and only replied:

"I'm well aware of that."

"And a friend usually knows when their friend is hurting."

At this point, his voice had become quite loud and his blue eyes wide, he retorted:

"What do you want to hear? That I cared about Rose, that I'm upset. Well, I didn't and I'm not."

Desperately Elena argued with him in a pleading voice:

"There you go. Pretending, pretending to turn it off, pretending not to feel. Damon you're so close, don't give up."

"I feel Elena, okay? And it sucks. What sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me! Jules was coming after me!"

She realized that hurt wasn't the entire reason for him acting this way, there was also guilt consuming him. She couldn't help but be surprised by this:

"You feel guilty."

"That would be human of me, wouldn't it, Elena? And I'm not human. You're one to talk about giving up. All you've done is give up. Go home. There's been enough doom, gloom and personal growth for one night. "

Elena finally gave in, defeated. She hated not being able to help him. Why couldn't he see that she was there for him? Trying not to show her hurt, she snapped:

"Okay, I will."

She looked at him one last time to make sure that this was really what he wanted, when she saw him stare into the flames dancing in the fireplace, his eyes empty. All of the sudden her arms were around his neck again and she was pressing her body against him, trying to comfort him. It was at this moment that Elena realized she was reliving another memory. And just like the first time, she opened her eyes abruptly, gasping for air.


	4. Chapter 4

_And another chapter...this one was a little more difficult to write and I still don't know if I am satisfied. I hope you still enjoy reading it! I have to tell all of you again, how great you're reviews are...you make me unbelievably happy! By the way, Elena and Damon will talk in the next chapter! _

**Chasing memories**

_Revelations_

Elena was lying on the floor, both Stefan and Damon kneeling beside her, staring at her in shock. They unanimously sighed in relief the moment she opened her eyelids and Stefan inquired carefully:

"Are you okay? What happened, Elena?"

Elena waited till the dizziness was gone and choked:

"Another memory!"

This time the brothers reacted quite differently from one another. Stefan jumped up and stumbled backwards, instinctively knowing that he was, once again, not part of the memory. Damon's sole reaction consisted in him raising his eyebrows and throwing Elena a curious glance.

Elena slowly got herself into an upright position and shook her head in utter confusion. The last minutes were almost too much to take in.

In her memory, Damon had been upset about something. What had made him so angry? The conversation between them replayed itself in her head like a broken record. He asked her to leave...she told him they were friends...he told her indirectly that he felt guilty...he told her that he wasn't human. He told her that he wasn't human.

She turned slowly towards Damon, who was still at her side, observing every single move of hers. She stammered:

"What did you mean when you said 'That would be human of me. And I'm not human.'?"

It was at times like these, that Damon was glad that he had perfected the control over his facial expressions during the last 164 years. He knew immediately what moment she had remembered. Elena remembered the hug after he had been forced to kill Rose! How was it possible that her memory was about this exact moment? Had it meant as much to her as it had meant to him? Had it torn her apart inside as much as it had him? He stared at Elena in amazement, when he suddenly realized that she had started to tremble slightly. Her eyes were filling with tears and she whispered:

"Who are you?"

She didn't ask this question just because Damon had denied his humanity, even though that would have been reason enough. Elena knew that it hadn't just been a figure of speech. Still, the reason for the question was more the feeling rising up in her while remembering Damon. The feeling that he wasn't a normal person - he somehow radiated an aura much too complex and powerful for a human. There was also the feeling that he could hurt her easily, while she knew at the same time that he wouldn't.

She understood by now that the necklace had in some way been her protection against Damon and him not wanting to give it back to her, had scared her. It had made her somehow vulnerable and he had taken advantage of it. At the same time Elena had known deep down that he would never harm her. But why did she need to be protected in the first place? And by a stupid necklace of all things? Elena blamed the amnesia for even being so crazy as to think that he wasn't human. But all she had been thinking about theses last days was the one memory. Again and again the part where Damon expressed his regrets about her having to forget the confession had shown up in front of her eyes.

Elena decided that she couldn't deny it any longer and suddenly fear overcame her. Still, she had to ask the question.

Upon hearing Elena's million dollar question, Damon's face stayed impassive, but his eyes told a completely different story. Finally, he confirmed in a low and soothing what she already knew:

"Elena, I would never do anything to hurt you."

All the arrogance that had layered his voice thickly before, was gone at this point. Damon tried to find any kind of confirmation in her face that she understood him. In the end, he looked up to Stefan, silently asking for help. Stefan shook his head strongly, indicating that Damon should under no circumstances tell her truth. In his opinion, it was too soon. He was convinced that Elena wasn't ready to here about their true nature just yet.

"I am a vampire."

It was out of his mouth before he could give it another thought. Elena's eyes widened in disbelief and she wanted to scold him for making such a bad joke. Then again, what did she want him to say? The questions racing through her mind were put to an abrupt stop, as Stefan rushed towards her:

"How could you, Damon? She just got out of the hospital! Don't you see that this is too much for her?"

He determinately pushed his brother away from Elena and took his place at her side. Elena, however, had just received the confirmation that Damon hadn't been joking. She gasped in horror:

"Are you...are you a vampire, too?"

Stefan couldn't believe how everything had once again taken the turn for the worst. The panic and disgust in Elena's eyes were too painful for him. She had looked at him the same way just before the accident. He couldn't take it, not again. But with Damon in the room, he couldn't tell her anything else but the truth. So, he nodded in response.

Elena closed her eyes, momentarily hoping that this was all just one scary nightmare. Finally, she asked shakily:

"Can I just go home?"

"Yes, of course. I'll drive you," replied Stefan immediately.

He stood up and held his arm towards her in order to help her get up from the floor. Elena ignored it, despite having quite the difficulties to stand up. Her legs threatened to give away at any second. Carefully she made a couple of steps before finding the force to turn around, searching for the other Salvatore brother. Damon was standing on the opposite side of the room, his face hidden in the shadows. Still, she distinctively heard him say:

"Goodbye Elena."

She caught herself wishing that Damon was the one to drive her home. Despite everything that had happened, despite the horrible revelation of what Stefan and he were, she trusted Damon. She had waited for so long to finally meet him, to finally talk to him. She reluctantly followed Stefan outside, but whispered, just before leaving the Boarding House:

"Goodbye Damon."

The drive home was rather uneventful, as both Stefan and Elena didn't know how to fill the uncomfortable silence between them. As she was about to get out of the car, Stefan asked:

"Can I come by tomorrow? I know that this is all very confusing for you, but just let me explain-"

Elena held her hand up to interrupt him:

"Stefan, I need my memory back before I can face all this. Try to understand, please. I need to be alone, for now."

She hated herself for the pain she inflicted on him, but he was a complete stranger to her. Additionally she had just found out that he was a vampire. Why didn't he understand that she couldn't just trust him?

"I understand. Just please call me...I love you, Elena. Not having you in my life-"

"Stefan, I can't!"

He sighed dejectedly and murmured a goodbye, which sounded almost final.

That evening, Elena went straight to bed. She told Jenna and Jeremy that she was exhausted from the eventful day and they let her go to her bedroom without any further questions. That night, Elena didn't sleep for a second. She had never been more relieved to see the morning sun – even though her 'never' didn't really include a long period of time. She put on a pair of jeans with a black sweater and tried to hide the dark circles around her eyes with a thick layer of make-up. Downstairs, she found a letter from Jenna saying that she and Jeremy were helping Mayor Lockwood organize an event and that they would be back for lunch. Elena was relieved to have the house all to herself for the entire morning. Even though she was now alone with her thoughts, she at least didn't have to sit through any awkward conversations with her family.

She was just about to make herself a cup of coffee, when the doorbell rang. For a moment she pondered whether she should just pretend not to have heard it, fearing to find Stefan on the porch. In the end, she went to the door and peeked through the door viewer. She saw a young woman with blond hair, smiling brightly back at her. She immediately recognized her from one of the pictures on her mirror. Elena opened the door and couldn't help but smile as the young woman greeted her:

"Hello Elena! It's so good to see you. I was unbelievably scared…anyway, I know that Jeremy said I shouldn't bother you. But I am your best friend and I just think that you need me right now. Oh, I'm Caroline by the way."

She laughed excitedly and her good humor was instantly catching. Elena opened the door wide and let the bubbly blond in.

"Hi Caroline! I unfortunately only know you from the couple of pictures hanging in my bedroom."

"Don't worry, Elena. I would love to answer all your questions. Have you eaten breakfast yet? I make a lot more sense with food in my stomach, trust me."

Caroline steered into the kitchen as if it was her own house.

"I was actually just about to make myself some coffee."

"Great! Are you up for some fruit salad?"

The charm of Caroline made Elena forget her sleepless night in a matter of minutes. Soon, various kinds of fruits were spread across the kitchen counter and Caroline started to chop them into pieces. Elena got herself a plate and a knife and started to peel the oranges. Caroline beamed at her and stated:

"So Stefan called me last night. He told me what happened during your visit at the Boarding House."

Elena almost cut herself in the finger at hearing this. She stared at Caroline and managed to stutter:

"He told you...what?"

"I know about them. What they are, I mean. I know that this must be terrifying for you. But Stefan loves you, and Damon lov...he's your friend."

Elena couldn't believe that she was once again having a completely surreal conversation. It seemed to happen all the time lately. Everything she had tried so hard to block out now came back, crashing down on her. Caroline, this innocent and carefree teenager, had just told her that she shouldn't be scared of vampires.

"Aren't they supposed to be monsters?"

"They are drinking blood, they need to in order to survive. Stefan only drinks animal blood though and Damon only feeds from the stuff from Blood Banks. They are not drinking from humans, Elena!"

Caroline was boring her eyes into hers, trying to make Elena understand that she was speaking the truth. Elena nodded slowly, still unable to get rid of the lump in her throat.

"Who else knows about them?"

"Well, Jeremy and Jenna know. Your other best friend, Bonnie, knows. My boyfriend Matt knows. Oh, Jenna's boyfriend Alaric knows. He's our history teacher, by the way. Kind of creepy, if you ask me. And that's about it, I think."

Elena went over to the kitchen table and sat down. She whispered:

"This is a mess. Why can't I just be a normal person with a boring life?"

"You are a normal person, Elena. You're just involved with some not so normal people, that's all. Once you get used to the idea, it's really not that big of a deal."

"That seems highly impossible at the moment. Caroline, I know that you all pledged to keep me ignorant about what happened...but it's killing me. Do you understand how it makes me feel, waking up in the morning not knowing who I am and not knowing why I ended up like this in the first place? Please just tell me!"

Just like all the others Elena had asked, Caroline shook her head miserably:

"I don't even know what happened, Elena. Stefan didn't want to tell me, because I have the tendency not to be able to keep my mouth shut. I would tell you if I could, Elena! I'm so sorry."

Despite her own disappointment and anger, Elena heard the regret and sincerity in her friend's voice and said:

"I understand, Caroline. It's not your fault."

Caroline threw the fruit pieces into a large bowl, added some sugar and mixed it all. She prepared two smaller bowls and placed one in front of Elena.

"Eat, Elena. It'll do wonders, you'll see."

Elena didn't know what came over her, but she could no longer ignore the need to ask someone for details about her memories. She observed Caroline digging into her fruit salad for a moment, before she asked:

"Was there something going on between Damon and me before the accident?"

Caroline's eyes shot up and quickly swallowed the food down for fear to choke on it.

"What?"

"Just...I mean as my best friend you would probably know, right? Did I cheat on Stefan with him?"

Caroline's first instinct was to ask Elena why she would even think something that crazy and impossible. However, Elena's pained face told her that she must have a good reason. Had Damon hinted at something in his usual obnoxious way? Or had she finally noticed the way he looked at her?

"Elena, listen. You and Stefan were in love and it would have been completely against your character to cheat on him. I am not going to deny that you and Damon had a deep connection. Your friendship meant a lot to both of you. He would..."

Caroline wanted to add that Damon would die to protect her, but she managed to hold her tongue before it was too late. She had promised Stefan not to scare Elena with any more gory details about her life. She shook her head and was just planning on changing the topic, when Elena asked:

"Can vampires make you forget things?"

Caroline's face was no definitely contorted into a question mark and still she admitted:

"Yes, they can compel you. A vampire has to look into your eyes and than he can command you at his will."

"So, that's what he did," Elena murmured under her breath.

Caroline, who had been to absorbed trying to figure out the reason for Elena's question, didn't catch what Elena had just realized. Seeing Elena's exhaustion she didn't pursue the matter and the rest of the morning, Caroline entertained her friend with one funny Highschool story after another. Around lunchtime, the two girls were interrupted by Jenna and Jeremy, who had returned from town. Jeremy greeted Caroline warmly despite having asked her to stay away, as he realized that Elena seemed to enjoy herself. From the fact that Elena wasn't in a state of shock, he gathered that Caroline must have for once been able not to spill anything she wasn't supposed to.

"As much fun as this was, Elena, I've got to go. My mom is expecting me for lunch. Hey, maybe we could organize a slumber party sometimes soon. We always used to that!"

Elena enthusiastically agreed and accompanied Caroline to the door. She really liked her and was glad to be able to call Caroline her best friend. Just before descending from the porch, Caroline turned around, her face grave and slightly saddened:

"Elena, there is something you should know about me. I didn't tell you early, because I thought you should get to know me before...the thing is, I am a vampire, too."

Elena had somehow once again gotten to a point, where nothing could surprise her anymore. She watched the young, strong woman and realized that she wasn't afraid of her at all. So she ignored the millions of questions boiling up in her and said, smiling warmly:

"It's okay, Caroline. I'll see you tomorrow."

Caroline's visit had brought Elena as much answers as it had brought questions. At least, Elena could now finally make sense of her first memory. Damon had compelled her to forget his confession. He apparently saw her as much more than just a good friend, but didn't want her to know that.

Elena guessed that the memory had reappeared because of the damage done to her brain during the accident. Part of her was angry that Damon had just violated her privacy like that, but another part of her was impressed with the selflessness of the act. She had seen in his eyes that it was hell for him to watch her with his brother. The second memory was still a mystery to her: who was Rose? What had made him so upset? Another thought tormenting Elena was the question, why she only seemed to remember Damon. She couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign of some sort.

As Elena went up to her bedroom that night, she had the feeling that she would be able to sleep better. She immediately realized how wrong she was about that, when she saw a dark figure sitting on her window sill.

It wasn't Damon. On the window sill sat an exact copy of her.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi everyone! I hope you have fun reading this chapter and let me know what you think afterwards! Thank you!_

**Chasing memories**

_Visit of an enemy_

"Hello Elena."

The voice, the face, the hair, the silhouette, everything was the same. The only differences were the clothes and maybe the eyes. They had a hard and cold shine to it, which Elena hadn't detected in her own eyes. Elena stood motionless in the middle of her room as she took in every detail of the intruder. She concluded rather calmly that she apparently had a twin, she didn't know anything about. Maybe her family had thought it would be funny to just surprise her with this fact. Her doppelganger crossed her legs elegantly and leant back against the window:

"So, I hear you lost your precious memory. That really is quite inconvenient for me."

Elena noticed that the voice wasn't the same after all, it was raspier and still much more alluring than her own. Somehow Elena's blood ran cold at the sound of it. She tentatively asked:

"Are we twins?"

"You always ask the wrong questions."

Elena was still trying to grasp what was going on, but she had already decided that she didn't like her look-alike, family or not. The young woman got up from the window sill, her movements flawless and graceful. She approached Elena slowly and positioned herself right in front of her:

"I want to make one thing very clear: Stefan is mine. So, stay the hell away from him. The next time you see him, tell him how much you hate him – otherwise I will not hesitate to break that pretty little neck of yours."

Elena didn't even dare to breathe as her doppelganger fixed her, eyes full off disdain. The other's voice was like venom and Elena didn't doubt for a second that she meant every word. Suddenly her look-alike turned around and headed back to the window. She opened it and whispered:

"He wants us both. But I don't share what's mine."

With those last words, which Elena had barely caught, she was gone. Elena blinked and slowly started to get some air back into her lungs. Then she suddenly sprinted towards the window, slamming it shut and locking it tightly. She reached the covers of her bed just as the first sobs were breaking out of her. It was exactly like this that Jeremy found her an hour later.

He had heard her muffled sobs while brushing his teeth in the bathroom they shared and immediately rushed over to her. She was hidden beneath the covers, her body shaking without control. He soothingly tried to get her to talk to him and shortly pondered whether he should call Jenna to ask her for help. Knowing that Jenna was on a date with Alaric for the first time since the accident, he decided against it. He carefully asked the bundle of sheets, not really expecting an answer:

"Should I call Stefan?"

Apparently mentioning Stefan was all it took to get a reaction out of Elena. She suddenly threw the covers back, almost hitting Jeremy, and furiously spit out:

"No! Don't you dare!"

"Who do you want to talk to, Elena?"

"Call Damon if you have to."

With this she returned to her hiding place under the blankets and Jeremy hastily searched his pockets for his phone. Damon had given him his number during on of the many rescue missions involving Elena, but this was actually the first time he needed it. He dialed Damon's number and didn't have to wait long for him to pick up his phone:

"What?"

"Damon, Elena wants to talk to you."

Jeremy wasn't surprised when Damon wordlessly hung up and didn't even flinch when a dark figure appeared behind the window two seconds later. He quickly let him in and pointed to the bed:

"I found her like this. I don't know what happened."

Damon didn't even acknowledge Jeremy and went straight over to the bed. He yanked the sheets away and stared at Elena, who was now covering her face with her hands. The tears still hadn't subsided and Damon was clearly indecisive on what do to with her. Assuming that she was breaking down because of the memory loss and the whole vampire thing, he said:

"Come on, Elena. We're going out."

She definitely hadn't expected this and abruptly stopped crying. She removed her hands from her tearstained face and stared up to Damon. He stood there, looking perfect with his hair slightly disheveled from the wind, his blue eyes taking in the pile of misery before him. Suddenly Elena narrowed her eyes dangerously and jumped up, screaming at the top of her lungs:

"We're going out? Are you serious? What is wrong with you?"

She was standing on her bed now, staggering quite a lot, while threatening Damon with her fists. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Damon had a hard time trying not to laugh. Jeremy hastily left the room, knowing that he needed to leave the pair alone to deal with their issues. Elena's little show was indeed far from over:

"What happened to me, Damon? I swear, if you don't tell me… And you can just as well tell me why you told me you love me and then made me forget! Everybody tells me you're my friend, but that's not what friends do, Damon! You're the worst friend ever! Oh, and then you can also tell me how it is possible that there is an exact copy of myself running around this town. You know what, I am sick of all your secrets. As a matter of fact, I don't want to see you or talk to you – just go away!"

Elena's fists were still hissing through the air, but Damon's face had lost every last sign of a smirk. Indeed, if he were able to pale than he would've been whiter than the sheets on Elena's bed by now. He was still trying to process what Elena had just revealed to him, when one of her fists finally found their target. She hit him hard on the nose and he stumbled backwards from the blow, surprised by its force. The blood and the crunching noise following the hit knocked Elena out of her rage. Appalled about what she had done, Elena whispered:

"Did I break it? Oh God, Damon, say something!"

Damon growled and touched his clearly broken nose carefully. He already felt it starting to heal and decided to scold Elena playfully:

"Damn, Elena, was that absolutely necessary? I mean it's not the first time you get the sudden urge to slap me. But this tops it all…"

As soon as his face was once again as good as new, he wiped his nose clean with his shirt. He only now noticed Elena gawking at him like he was the eight wonder of the world:

"How? It just healed?"

"Yes, one of the upsides of being a vampire is that you heal quickly."

Damon dropped down on the bed, trying to keep a clear head. He rarely felt overstrained, but right now he didn't know what to think or do. First of all, Elena apparently knew about his confession. Second, she had seen Katherine. Third, she wanted information about the accident. For a moment, Damon toyed with the idea to just speed back out of the window, leaving this mess behind. But he knew himself well enough to know that he wasn't capable of leaving Elena, he had never been. He patted the mattress, mentioning to Elena to take a seat. Feeling drained to the core, Elena did as he asked and silence swept through the room.

Damon had decided by now that he didn't have another choice but to tackle all of his problems. He was after all good at dealing with problems, he encouraged himself. He laid his hand over Elena's and when she didn't pull it away, he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Was your doppelganger here? In the house?"

Elena shuddered and nodded. Damon clenched his teeth in anger and murmured:

"That's not good. What is that bitch doing back in this town?"

He abruptly turned towards Elena and his blue eyes locked with hers:

"She didn't hurt you, did she?"

"No. She told me to stay away from Stefan."

Elena didn't trust her voice enough to elaborate, but Damon seemed to sense this and didn't ask for more details. Instead he urged:

"Elena, listen to me. She is evil. Her name is Katherine. I will tell you more about her, but that's going to have to wait for another time. It's a long and ugly story."

At the mention of the name of her shady look-alike, Elena saw a couple of incoherent images passing through her mind. Hoping for another memory, she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the name. Katherine. The jolt of pain didn't even come as a surprise anymore and this time, Elena found herself suddenly sitting in a bar.

It was a typical bar with gloomy light and air full of traces of alcohol and tobacco. Elena was sitting in front of a plate filled with fries and a burger. At her left side she discovered Damon who was leisurely chewing on some fries. She couldn't help but notice how close they were sitting as she felt his leather jacket brushing against her waist. The whole scene had something peaceful and oddly comforting about it. She found herself asking:

"Let's just say that I'm a descendant from Katherine, does that make me part vampire?"

Damon shook his head and answered:

"Vampires can't procreate. But we love to try."

He accompanied the last part of his answer with a suggestive smirk, but continued more seriously:

"No, if you are related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned."

Elena felt a wave of anger and betrayal flaming up in her and asked:

"And did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?"

Damon nonchalantly replied:

"It's kind of creepy if you ask me."

Suddenly he picked up the pickle she had laid on the side of her plate and berated her teasingly:

"Come on, you don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?"

"How can you even eat, if technically you're supposed to be…"

She tilted her head, trying to make him understand her question. Damon turned towards her and whispered, as if they were plotting a murder:

"Dead…? It's not such a bad word. As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."

He threw some French fries into his mouth as if he had to prove his point. Elena couldn't help but smile. It felt right and good to be there with him and she had the sudden urge to ask him if it was as real to him as it was to her:

"This nice act, is any of it real?"

The question clearly took him by surprise and he only hummed in response. Before Elena could fish for a better answer, the bartender, a woman with thick brown hair, came over and placed a beer in front of Damon:

"Here you go, honey."

Elena heard herself immediately chime in:

"I'll have one too."

Damon looked at her like she was insane and Elena felt the need to explain her out-of-character behavior:

"Time out, remember? For five minutes. Yeah, well that five minutes is gonna need a beer."

Damon smirked at this and as soon as Elena had a beer, they toasted each other. Just as Elena felt the first gulp of cool beer running down her throat, she was catapulted out of her memory back to the present. Damon's hands were by now cupping her face and he asked, the concern vividly dancing in his eyes:

"Hey Elena, what's wrong? Did you remember something else?"

Her doe brown eyes lost themselves in his and she felt her cheeks glowing from heat under his hands. Damon had apparently not noticed how close they were, but Elena was immediately reminded of the bar scene she had just witnessed. She couldn't make complete sense of it yet, but she knew now that Caroline's words about their deep connection had indeed been the truth. She had to admit that in her two latest memories Damon and her had behaved more like lovers than friends. When Damon's thumbs started caressing her jaw line, Elena was finally knocked out of her reverie and she said:

"I just remembered us sitting in a bar, talking about Katherine. When was that?"

Damon's hands glided of her cheeks in astonishment and a light laugh escaped his lips:

"You had a memory about our first road trip?"

His eyes started to glow out of joy as he explained:

"I brought you to a bar in Georgia, because I wanted to talk to an old friend. I got you kind of drunk that night – it was a hell of a lot of fun. I think we became friends that day."

Damon wanted to add that it was the day he fell in love with her. He wanted to add that it was the day she saved his life. But he kept his mouth shut, because he knew it wasn't the right time for those kinds of details.

Elena's body filled with warmth at his words and she felt awful ruining their moment by asking:

"In the memory, I said something about Stefan replacing me with her. What does that mean, Damon?"

Damon sighed uncomfortably and turned slightly away from her:

"Stefan used to date Katherine a long time ago. I dated her too, but that's beside the point…You knew about her when you became Stefan's girlfriend, but you didn't know that you both look exactly the same. It kind of freaked you out."

"And we still got back together?"

"Yep, you did."

"Unbelievable."

"Don't judge yourself before you know the entire story, Elena. You would have never gotten back together with him, if you didn't think it was right."

Elena shook her head in despair despite Damon's efforts to calm her. All of the sudden the urge to get out of her room as quickly as possible overcame her with such intensity, that she jumped up and said:

"Actually, I do want to go out."

Damon's face lit up and he said, a little mischievous grin playing around his mouth:

"I'd love to take you somewhere. But you should go clean up you're face. Not that you aren't still beautiful, you always are…still, we don't want to scare the neighbors, do we now?"

Elena scolded him with a dark look, but made her way over to the bathroom. Upon seeing herself in the mirror, she had to admit that Damon was right and was suddenly embarrassed that he had seen

her like this. Pushing back these strange thoughts, she quickly got to work and managed to repair the damage within a couple of minutes. She flinched slightly as she saw Damon's face appearing behind her:

"You're aunt can be a little frightening by the way – she doesn't like me that much. So, if you don't mind I am going to take the window, while you take the stairs. I'll meet you on the porch."

With that, he was gone in a flash before Elena could say another word. She huffed in annoyance, grabbed a jacket and sneaked down the stairs as quietly as possible. Jenna, who had by now returned from her date with Alaric, was talking to her boyfriend in the kitchen. Feeling a little guilty, Elena opened the front door and slipped outside. She discerned Damon's dark figure standing in the yard, the moonlight illuminating the amused grin on his face. He closed the distance between them and hooked his arm into hers:

"You think it's such a good idea not to tell your aunt you're going out?"

"I thought she doesn't like you, meaning I would have to lie to her, Damon. I'd rather not."

"Okay then. I hope you don't mind walking, because I didn't bring my car…"

Elena shook her head and so the pair made their way down the dark street. They passed one house after the next in silence, when Elena suddenly whispered:

"Damon, why are all my memories about you?"


	6. Chapter 6

_And another chapter...I hope it's not too confusing and disappointing. Thank you for the crazy number of reviews, guys! Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to update before Sunday, because I'm going on a short vacation without my laptop )-: - but I will have a lot of time to write and so the chapters will be up that much faster afterwards..._

**Chasing memories**

_Confessions and hidden feelings_

"All your memories are about me? You don't remember anyone else?"

"Well, there have only been three memories so far. But still…"

Elena shook her head in confusion and felt Damon tense at her side. The vampire was indeed taken aback by this news and tried to wrap his head around what Elena had just revealed to him. Trying to buy himself some time, he cockily remarked:

"Jeez, Elena, the answer to that is simple…I mean, words like 'irresistible' and 'gorgeous' were invented because of me. I would be offended if you didn't remember me first."

"Damon! Stop being such a self-absorbed ass!"

This time Elena's punch to his arm didn't come unexpected and Damon couldn't refrain from laughing. Their banter reminded him of their friendship before the accident: whenever they were in the same room, there had been teasing, flirting and dark looks from Elena. However, the difference between now and then was that Elena had known all of his sides, the good ones and the bad ones. This Elena apparently didn't remember the cold-blooded monster in him, nor did she remember the pain he had caused her in the past. Ironically she only recalled him confessing his love to her, her hugging and comforting him and sitting at a bar with him. Damon already dreaded the moment where the nice and friendly picture her mind had drawn of him, would crumble into pieces. All of the sudden he wished he could just give up all of his powers in exchange for the ability to stop time.

Damon had a pretty good guess as to why her first memories were about him, but he also knew that Elena wouldn't like his answer. This would be the beginning of her once again getting to know the real Damon. He shortly wondered whether she would forgive him as easily as she had always done, before he confessed:

"Elena, as you saw before, my blood has certain healing powers. When you were at the hospital, I came to visit you and since you were in pretty bad shape…I made you drink my blood."

Elena immediately stopped walking and withdrew her arm from underneath his. Saying that her face bore a look of horror would have been the understatement of the century. She spit out:

"You compelled me to drink your blood?"

"Yes, I did."

One incoherent thought after the next raced through Elena's brain and she stammered:

"You…oh god…I have your blood in my…does that make me…Damon, how could you?"

"Calm down, Elena. You're still human, if that was one the questions you were planning on asking. And then, don't forget that I was the one who healed that painful back of yours. "

"So it was your blood which made my back heal overnight?"

"Hmh. But it apparently did more than that…it helped your brain heal faster. Since it's my blood, memories of me are the ones coming back first. Don't worry, all the other ones aren't far away."

By now Elena had grown used to getting curious answers to her questions and she slowly got better at processing them. At least she finally knew the truth behind her miraculous recovery and the reason for her memories about Damon. She realized with some disappointment that her only remembering the older Salvatore brother hadn't been a sign after all. She accidentally displayed her dissatisfaction as she whispered into the darkness of the night:

"So that's the reason…your blood?"

"Oh no, I'm sure the fact that I'm so deliciously handsome plays a big part in it, too. It just isn't the only reason," Damon scoffed with a smug smile.

He had heard her disappointment quite clearly and felt an emotion stir in him, he had worked on so hard to suppress. A part of him wanted to tell her that it was sign she remembered the exact moments that meant most to him. Of course there were others like their dance at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, but her three memories were definitely among the top ten. This time he kept his mouth shut out of fear to make himself too vulnerable. After all, that had never ended well for him. He took Elena's arm once again and they continued their way down the street.

"Why didn't Stefan give me his blood?"

"He did, right after the accident. But he's only drinking animal blood, which makes him a lot weaker than me. Consequently his blood is pretty useless too."

Elena was just about to ask the vampire at her side about the famous accident, when another question slipped out of her mouth:

"How often have you done that by now, Damon?"

"I have done a lot of things in my long undead, dead life. So could you maybe be a little vaguer?"

Elena didn't have the strength for a sense of humor anymore and raised her voice angrily:

"How often have you compelled me to forget things?"

"Only the two times you now know about. Those were the only times you weren't protected."

The last part of Damon's answer aroused Elena's curiosity:

"Are you talking about the necklace?"

"Yes. You lost it during the accident. Speaking of vervain, what did my saintly brother give you this time?"

"Why are we talking about vervain now?"

Damon saw confusion clouding her eyes and almost choked on his own tongue:

"You've got to be kidding me. Stefan didn't…"

Damon knew from the phone calls between Stefan and Caroline that she had been the one to tell Elena about compulsion. Still, he had never doubted that Stefan had slipped something onto Elena to protect her, after she'd gotten out of the hospital. Now that he thought about it, he realized that she wasn't wearing any piece of jewelry. The thought that Katherine could have easily manipulated her in this vervainless state, made his head spin.

"Elena, listen to me. Vervain protects you from being compelled by a vampire – your necklace was filled with it. You lost it during the…I thought that Stefan had given you something else by now, especially since he doesn't trust me one bit."

Damon couldn't make sense of Stefan's actions. Had his brother been so busy wallowing in self-pity that he had just forgotten about Elena's safety? Or had he been too busy manipulating Caroline to get back into Elena's good graces? All these possible explanations didn't satisfy Damon to the least, he could practically smell that something was very much off about this. After deciding that he would get some more information about his brother's motivations later, he said to Elena:

"I'm going to get you a necklace filled with vervain or some other nifty little thing and bring it by tomorrow morning. With Katherine back in town, you should wear it all the time."

Elena only nodded gratefully as she was following her own thoughts about what Damon had just hinted at. She couldn't make anymore sense of Stefan's behavior than Damon though and so she concentrated back on her surroundings. Noticing that they seemed to approach the core of the town, she wondered:

"Where are we going?"

"We, my dear Elena, are going to the Grill. It's the only half decent bar, restaurant, whatever that you can find in this godforsaken town."

She snickered lightly at his fake distress:

"Come on, it doesn't seem to be that bad."

Damon snorted in response and guided her towards a brightly lit building on the corner of the street. He opened the door, beckoning her inside and Elena was greeted by a wave of colors, voices and laughter. Half of the town seemed to have gathered in this friendly looking place, where waiters in bright blue shirts scampered from one table to another. She felt Damon's hand on her back steering her towards a table in the corner. Elena threw him a questioning glance, silently asking whether he was planning on sitting near the two drunken men already occupying the table. Damon ignored her and tipped both men on the shoulder. They turned their glassy eyes towards him and the next thing Elena saw were Damon's pupils dilating. He snarled:

"Gentlemen, it's time to get home."

The two men continued to stare at him for a moment, but then they suddenly murmured in consent and slowly stood up. They were both staggering dangerously, but managed to find their way out of the Grill. Elena only now realized what Damon had done and angrily hissed:

"Damon, you compelled them! You can't just walk around –"

"Trust me, Elena, their livers will be thankful they won't have to deal with any more amounts of alcohol tonight."

Elena huffed in annoyance, but took a seat as Damon plopped down on the opposite side. He reached over and took Elena's hands into his, lightly playing with her thumbs. He smirked at her inability to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks and mischievously asked:

"So, are we going to get drunk tonight? We haven't done that in a long time…"

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Damon. Especially since you still have to answer some of my questions."

The truth was that Elena enjoyed just sitting at the table with him, out in the world and still engulfed in their own universe. She wasn't ready for anymore revelations tonight, but she was also scared of doing something stupid if she just let go. They were only friends and she realized that more than one boundary had already been overstepped. Would she regret letting them become so close once she remembered everything? Would she regret betraying Stefan by letting her heart feel things it shouldn't? That emotion she had felt welling up in her during his confession had announced itself multiple times in the pit of her stomach these past hours. She feared finding out what it was, because she knew it would once again change everything. At that moment, one of the waiters showed up at their table:

"Elena, what are you doing here?"

She looked up to the young man, who appeared to be the typical good-looking Highschool football player. His eyes wandered back and forth between her, Damon and their locked hands. He cleared his throat and added as if only now recalling Elena's amnesia:

"I'm Matt, a friend of yours. Caroline's boyfriend."

Elena vaguely remembered Caroline mentioning him among those who knew about vampires. She smiled and greeted him warmly. Matt, however, hadn't stopped eyeing her and Damon strangely:

"Elena, does Stefan know you're here with Damon. I don't think…"

Even though he didn't finish his sentence, Elena understood from his tone that he didn't approve of her choice of company. For a moment she couldn't help but wonder what his problem with the older Salvatore brother was, but also knew that the intertwined hands maybe send the wrong signal. Still, she didn't pull them back and answered defiantly:

"I needed to get out of the house and talk to a friend."

Matt was clearly not persuaded and still seemed to be searching for signs that Elena wasn't here on her own free will. In the end, he promised Elena to bring her their drinks as quickly as possible. As soon as he was a few steps away from the table, Damon remarked:

"He's an ex-boyfriend of yours. Probably jealous."

"Don't worry, Damon. I trust you."

He visibly relaxed as if he'd expected her to run out the door after Matt's unspoken insinuations. Elena smiled at his sudden vulnerability, but quickly changed the topic:

"So, I dated him?"

"That's what I've heard. You seem to have a thing for boring, dull and eternally brooding guys. But maybe that's only because you are scared to fall head over heals for the tall, dark and handsome ones…"

Elena was unable to find a witty reply to this and realized that they were once again sailing into dangerous waters. She was glad when Matt chose that exact moment to return with their drinks, which saved her from embarrassing herself.

Meanwhile at the Boarding House, Stefan wasn't as alone as his brother and amnesiac girlfriend might have thought. Katherine had actually decided to pay the younger Salvatore brother a visit after passing by Elena's house. She was now strolling through his bedroom, one hand on her hip, the other holding a glass filled with Bourbon. Stefan was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and an unhappy expression on his face.

"Katherine, you shouldn't have come back."

Katherine dismissively waved her arm as if she wanted to chase away a fly and set her pitch black eyes upon the young man:

"She will remember everything sooner or later, Stefan. You think she's just going to forgive you this time? Are such a fool to believe she will run back into your arms?"

"I made a mistake. She will understand."

Katherine's patience was clearly strained, but she approached him calmly and traced his collarbone with her fingers. She whispered maliciously:

"Damon apparently knows her better than you do. He's making his move on her as we speak."

Stefan went rigid, but tried to persuade himself that this was just one of Katherine's tricks. The beautiful vampire was now circling him and when she spoke again, her voice was laced with desire and seduction:

"Come with me, Stefan. Let's travel the world. You will love me again."

Before Stefan knew what she was doing, her lips brushed his.

"Don't fight it, Stefan."

He wanted to give in, forget about everything around him that was falling to pieces. He knew that he would never be able to regain Elena's love, but he also knew that he needed her. In the end something kept him from listening to Katherine. Maybe it was because he didn't trust that his former girlfriend really meant what she said, maybe it was because the picture of Damon and Elena together haunted him. He sped towards the other side of the room, turning his back to the seducer.

Katherine stomped her feet in fury, her eyes suddenly bleeding red and full of hatred:

"We had a deal, Stefan. You know what I do with people who don't hold their promises?"

Without waiting for an answer, she sped towards a wooden chair, breaking off one of its legs. Seconds later a bloodcurdling scream was filling the room and Katherine snarled:

"I rip them to shreds."

At the same time, Damon and Elena's conversation at the Grill turned out to be much more peaceful than Stefan and Katherine's. The vampire was indeed entertaining Elena with stories about their day in Georgia. He told her about how she had downed one shot after the next and with what crazy enthusiasm she had played pool. It didn't matter that he invented some details to enrich his story when he told her that she had flirted with one man after the next. Elena laughed heartily, tears of joy escaping her eyes and Damon was entranced by her radiating beauty.

They were however interrupted by his phone's piercing ring.


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm finally back with an update! I'm so glad you're all sticking with me and please don't hate for me this chapter…it was necessary.__ I know that Stefan is probably very OOC, but I plan to explain the reason for his behavior in the following chapters. Next chapter will be up soon! _

**Chasing memories**

_Memory of another__ kind_

In the end, Katherine had used all fours legs of the chair to mutilate Stefan's body. Two of the deadly pieces of wood had missed his unbeating heart by mere millimeters. Another one was pierced through his stomach and the last one was sticking out of his right leg. Stefan felt the blood seeping out of him and his body growing weaker by the second. All his attempts to get up ended in even greater pain running through him and he started to frantically search for his phone in his pockets. He was finally able to reach it and dialed his brother's number, his fingers trembling violently. He swore feebly when it took Damon exactly five rings to pick up his phone. As soon as he heard his brother's voice on the other end, Stefan hoarsely spit out:

"I need your help. Katherine was here…stake…"

Fortunately Damon didn't seem to be drunk and immediately caught on:

"We'll be right there."

Stefan was in too much agony to think about the 'we' his brother had just used. He gritted his teeth and tried to suppress the screams waiting to break out of him. He was sure he'd never been gladder to hear the 'wushing' sound announcing his brother's arrival than today. However, when Damon finally came through the door, Stefan was still lucid enough to see that he was not alone. Elena was right behind the older Salvatore brother, her hair sticking off in every direction indicating that Damon had carried her here on his arms. Now she stood stock-still in the doorway, a silent cry on her lips at the sight of the wounded vampire. Even Damon seemed to be affected by Katherine's cruelty as he hurried towards his brother. With one swift move, he pulled the pieces of wood out of Stefan's body, ignoring his shout of pain. Damon scrutinized the wounds for a moment before he declared the obvious:

"You need blood."

Elena immediately picked up the dilemma showing itself on Damon's face and asked:

"Caroline said something about you drinking from blood bags. Can't you-"

Damon shook his head and explained:

"He can't drink so much human blood at once, Elena. Small amounts would be okay, but he needs more than just a few drops to heal. I need to go hunt for him."

Elena didn't understand Damon's reasoning, but gathered that he was planning on leaving her alone with Stefan. Maybe it was the metallic and nauseating smell of blood, but Elena was suddenly scared beyond belief. Stefan didn't look like he would stay alive much longer if they didn't do anything soon. What if something happened while Damon was away? She wouldn't be able to help Stefan, she wouldn't know what to do. The thought that Damon could lose his brother was unbearable. Suddenly Stefan's weak voice became audible:

"Just give me human blood, Damon. I've been drinking it since a couple of days."

Damon's blue eyes widened in disbelief and Elena perceived one emotion after the next flickering across his face. She believed to discern resentment, frustration, disappointment and strangely something close to fear. Finally the pool of blood beneath his brother growing rapidly in size forced Damon to shut of his emotions for a moment and to act.

He left the room in a blur and was just as quickly back, this time holding two bags filled with the red lifeblood. He hesitated a pregnant moment before holding the straw to his brother's mouth, who gulped the blood down avidly.

The gaping wounds in Stefan's body closed itself slowly and some color returned to his face as a result of the human blood circulating through his veins. For Elena it was the first time she witnessed a vampire feeding and she was slightly repelled by the sight. She didn't know whether her own exhaustion was playing a trick on her, but for a moment she believed to see veins popping out around the vampire's eyes and fangs growing in his mouth. After emptying the two bags, Stefan was far from satisfied and rattled:

"I need more."

Damon vehemently shook his head:

"Oh no, little brother. Remember last time?"

The older Salvatore kneeled down beside his brother, pushed his arms under his body and lifted him up, groaning from the effort. He carried him towards the bed and let him sink into the fluffy sheets. Damon started getting the bloody and ripped shirt off of his brother and so Elena quickly went towards one of the dressers searching for a new one. While searching through Stefan's stuff, she discovered women clothes and deduced that they belonged to herself. A pang of guilt invaded her and she hurried to find a clean shirt as quickly as possible. She finally picked a grey one and approached the injured slowly, wondering whether she was expected to put the shirt on Stefan. She couldn't help but feel relieved when Damon grabbed the shirt out of her hand and did the dressing. He said to Stefan, his tone slightly dangerous:

"Stay here and rest. I'll get you some of your own diet."

Without leaving Stefan time to respond, Damon got off the bed and mentioned to Elena to leave the room. She followed his request like she was in a trance, her head still spinning from the masses of blood and the sight of the wounds. They descended the creaky stairs in silence and entered the parlor. Elena sat down on the couch, her legs shaking from fatigue and shock. She stammered:

"Is he going to be okay?"

Damon wanted to comfort her, but he knew he had to concentrate on more pressing matters for now. Stefan needed more blood or his body would soon weaken once again, bringing him closer and closer to death. The two blood bags had indeed been far from enough to help him recover from the damage Katherine had caused. He needed to get the animal blood as quickly as possible. Damon turned towards Elena:

"Elena, listen to me. Stefan is going to be fine, but I need to get blood for him right now. Just stay here, I'll be back before you know it."

Suddenly remembering the other threat in the room, he added:

"Katherine won't be back tonight. She's probably taking out her anger on some poor…"

He left his sentence unfinished and started to rummage through a drawer of an old cabinet. After sending a couple of items flying through the room, he finally found what he was looking for. It was a fine silver ring adorned with a small blue diamond. He turned towards Elena and ordered:

"Give me your hand."

He gifted her questioning glance with a cheesy smile and elaborately dropped down on his knees. A gleam of irony in his eyes, he purred:

"Miss Gilbert, will you wear this vervain-filled ring?"

Elena cocked her head as if she had to think about it, all the while smiling widely. Despite the horrible situation they had both just witnessed, Damon was still trying to cheer her up. And it was working. She nodded in response and Damon slipped the ring onto her finger. The next moment he was gone.

While speeding towards the dark forest, Stefan's big revelation about his changed diet crept back into Damon's mind. Since when had he started to drink human blood once again? And more importantly, why? There was one thing Damon knew for sure: his brother had become more unpredictable and unstable then ever.

Meanwhile, Elena had gotten comfortable on the sofa and closed her eyes. She felt drained and lost, now that Damon had suddenly left her side. The day had been filled with unexpected turn of events and she wondered how much more her mind could take. First there had been Caroline's visit, than Katherine's, than Damon's and now here she was in the same house with a badly wounded vampire. She sighed in defeat and grabbed a blanket lying on the backrest and huddled under it. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she shouldn't fall asleep, especially since Jenna didn't know anything about her whereabouts. In the end, sleep overtook her nonetheless.

At some point during the night, she believed to feel a hand brushing over her cheek, but she was too drowsy to open her eyes. She only awoke when bright rays of sunlight illuminated her face in the morning.

Elena blinked a couple of times and it took her moment before she realized where she was. She was still at the Boarding House, lying on the couch in the middle of the parlor. Somebody had put a soft pillow under her head and laid another blanket on top of her to keep her warm. She smiled at the thought of Damon taking care of her to this extent and slowly sat up. She shortly wondered whether the two brothers were still sleeping, when she saw a letter on the small desk beside her. She grabbed it and skimmed over the neat handwriting:

_Good morning__ beautiful!_

_Now before you get all worked up about how Jenna doesn't__ know where you are – I called Jeremy and explained the situation to him. He's going to tell that scary aunt of yours that you slept over at Caroline's. _

_I'm just out getting some real food, since I don't suppose you'd be happy to get a blood bag for breakfast. _

_Damon_

_P.S. Don't go upstairs. Stefan is still in no condition to be near a human. _

_P.P.S. Did anyone ever tell you that you snore awfully during your sleep? I spent half the night searching for earplugs…_

Elena read the letter a couple of times, the smile on her face growing wider every time. She folded the paper and put into the pocket of her jeans when she heard a faint voice floating through the room:

"Elena…are you there?"

She recognized Stefan's voice and jumped up, wondering whether he had somehow managed to get into the living room. She didn't see him anywhere though and tiptoed towards the stairs. Stefan was standing at the top, looking like he would collapse any minute. Elena raced up the stairs as fast as her legs allowed it and yelled:

"Stefan, you should be in bed! What are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you."

He breathed heavily and his face was distorted from the pain. Elena hooked her arm under his and so the pair hobbled back to the bedroom, which was fortunately close to the stairs. It still took them half an eternity to reach the bed and more than once, Elena felt like she would crumble under the weight. Finally Stefan slumped back into the bed and Elena sat down near him, her entire body aching. She whispered:

"What do you need to talk about so urgently?"

Stefan turned his head towards her and hoarsely answered:

"You can't trust him, Elena. I know that you want to, because you remember him. But he forced you to drink his blood while you –"

Elena interrupted him without thinking about it any further:

"Stefan, I know about the blood. And it's okay, Damon did it to help me."

Stefan seemed to be taken aback by this, but continued even more urgently now:

"Can't you see that he's using the fact that you don't remember our love? My entire life, he's always wanted what I have. He's sole purpose is to make my life miserable. Getting you is his ultimate goal."

Elena starred at him now, her eyes for once unreadable. She thought back to Damon's confession and how selfless his words had been. He was in love with her, but he had accepted that she was with his brother and didn't want to ruin their happiness. How could Stefan be so ignorant about Damon? Even though Stefan didn't know anything about her memory, he of all people should know about the good in his brother. She wondered whether the pain was causing Stefan to imagine things and decided to forgive him for his misjudgment. Maybe he was hurt that she had pushed him away and still let Damon back into her life. She touched his arm in a calming gesture, trying to convince him and herself that he didn't have any reason to be jealous:

"He's not using anything, Stefan. He's only trying to help me through this difficult time, as a friend."

Deep down, she knew that she was lying to Stefan about the relationship between her and Damon. It was more than friendship and Damon wasn't the only one to be blamed for that.

The injured vampire on the bed was very much aware of the fact that he wasn't getting through to Elena. He also knew he didn't have much time left to make her change her mind before Damon's return. Gathering all the strength he had left in himself, Stefan rasped:

"He was the one who killed your birthmother Isobel."

Stefan had been unsure whether his plan would work, but when Elena's eyes closed in remembrance, he couldn't help but feel slightly triumphant. Indeed, the name had triggered a memory and this time it was a memory of a different kind.

Elena was back at the Grill. It was once again jam-packed with people, but something was clearly different from her visit last night. Elena quickly found what irritated her: she was boiling over with unpleasant emotions. There was a big lump in her throat while anger and disappointment were clouding her mind. Suddenly she felt herself bumping forcefully against someone. A familiar voice sneered:

"Wow, easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else."

Elena looked up to Damon, her face instantly contorting into an expression of disgust. She spit out:

"Did you enjoy that? Rubbing it into Alaric Saltzman?"

Damon's smirk was replaced by furrowed brows because of her hostility and he asked, completely confused:

"What?"

"Just as I was trying to think that there was something redeemable about you!"

At that moment Stefan's voice cut through the room, apparently trying to stop Elena from whatever she was planning on doing:

"Elena –"

Damon was still in the dark about what was going on and repeated:

"Am I missing something here?"

Elena felt the rage overtaking her and snapped:

"Did I forget to mention – earlier when we were talking about my birthmother, the one that gave me up – her name was Isobel."

Any trace of arrogance was now wiped off his face and she saw recognition flashing up in Damon's eyes. Deeply hurt and close to tears, Elena continued:

"Go ahead. Reminisce about how you killed her."

As much as Elena strained herself, the memory stopped there. The last thing she believed to remember was regret in Damon's eyes, but she couldn't even be sure about that anymore. She kept her eyes closed, but a single tear still found its way down her cheek. She felt a hand brushing it away and immediately jerked up from the bed. Stefan had a knowing look on his face and something indefinable glowing in his eyes.

Elena felt the air in the room choking her with its heaviness and fled as fast as she could, the door thundering close behind her. She stumbled down the stairs, her eyes blinded by tears.


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm sorry for the wait__, guys - it took me much longer to write this chapter than I thought (I actually rewrote it three times). I'm finally happy with it…so enjoy and please review!_

**Chasing memories**

_The key_

When Damon came back, carrying croissants and fresh oranges, he noticed the lack of a heartbeat even before stepping over the threshold. He still turned the entire mansion upside down, searching in every corner of the house for Elena. At one point, he stormed into Stefan's room and found his fakily snoring brother pretending to sleep. He grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, suddenly getting the urge to drive the four wooden stakes back into his body. He got all the confirmation he needed from the look in Stefan's now open eyes. The human blood, the jealousy and his inability to deal with guilt had taken over. The man hanging limply on his arms wasn't Stefan, it was just his body. His demons had finally won the battle.

After accepting that Elena wasn't in the house anymore, Damon started to search for her on the surrounding grounds. In between perking up his ears for any human sound, he sent a message to Jeremy asking whether he'd seen his sister. He didn't bother writing back when Jeremy denied this and worriedly asked if there was a problem. In the end, he picked up the scent of strawberry flavored shampoo, his old couch and human blood close to the edge of the Salvatore property. She was sitting under a massive oak tree, clenching her legs, her face plunged into deep thought. She was slightly shivering as the sun was unable to penetrate through the thick leaves of the tree and her clothes were soaked from the hoarfrost on the ground. Damon let out the breath he had been holding the entire time when he saw that physically, Elena seemed to be fine.

As he bent down to her, she murmured:

"It's not real."

"What's not real?"

"The memory. It has to be false, it has to be."

"Elena, whatever happened – we can talk about it. Right now, can I just carry you inside?"

He took the lack of an answer for consent and carefully picked her up. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest, closing her eyes. Damon's first instinct was to carry her back to the Boarding House, but somehow the thought of having her anywhere near Stefan made him sick with anger. Bringing her home wasn't such a good idea either, because he would have to face the reproachful questions of Jenna and Jeremy.

Lastly Damon decided on Caroline's place. Even though the young vampire was a loyal friend of his younger brother, she was still foremost Elena's best friend. He speeded towards Caroline's house, hoping that Vampire Barbie's mother was out on duty. The driveway was indeed deserted and so he decided he could risk coming in through the front door. The door flew open before he had a chance to knock and in front of him stood a shocked Caroline.

"Oh my god, what is going on?"

As soon as Elena heard Caroline's voice she struggled out of Damon's arms and slowly got on her own two feet. She adjusted her clothes and facing Caroline, she said:

"I'm fine. Nothing happened. Everything is fine."

Her voice was little to shaky to be convincing and Caroline was just trying to get her to spill more details, when Damon interrupted her:

"Can we come inside before you're going to pester us with questions?"

Caroline nodded and stepped aside to let them in. She guided Damon and Elena into the kitchen and mentioned towards the table. Elena immediately slumped down on one of the chairs, but Damon turned towards the blonde vampire and said:

"Caroline, do you think you can just for once listen to me and do as I say?"

Caroline saw the urgency and apprehension in his eyes, so she agreed and gulped down all the questions.

"Great. First I need you to get Elena out of those wet clothes. Then I need you to make her a cup of hot chocolate. Lastly I need you to just shut up."

Elena remarked:

"I am still here, guys. No need to treat me like a corpse."

"How did you get so wet?"

"Blondie, why is it that you never listen to me?"

"Because you've got a couple of loose screws upstairs."

"And your skull is filled with a mass of cheerleading pompoms instead of a brain."

"Listen Damon, if you think that I am still that naïve little girl you chewed on –"

"Chewed on?"

Elena's voice was an octave higher when she interrupted the two bickering vampires. Damon hastily tried to cover up Caroline's slip of the tongue:

"We dated. Wasn't pretty."

Elena was slightly surprised by this new information, but the cold creeping onto every last part of her body kept her from exploring how she felt about that. Caroline finally pulled her friend from the chair and dragged her into her bedroom. Damon followed the two girls and observed the blonde vampire starting to rummage through her dresser. She picked a simple blue shirt and a pair of jeans. Damon's lips curled into a genuine smile when Elena asked:

"Aren't you going to get out? Or at least turn around?"

Normally this would have earned a sarcastic comeback, but today Damon just left the room, closing the door behind him. Using her vampire speed, Caroline didn't have any difficulties helping Elena to make the change of clothes happen in a matter of seconds. Seeing that her friend still trembled from the cold, she additionally got her a warm grey cardigan. Just as Caroline was about to call Damon back into the room, Elena whispered:

"Caroline, do you trust Damon? I mean, would you trust him with your life?"

Caroline was clearly taken aback by this unexpected question, but still answered within a heartbeat:

"No. I don't trust him when it comes to my life."

She saw a shadow of pain appearing in Elena's eyes and hurried to get the rest of her answer out:

"If your actual question is whether you can trust him, than the answer is yes. When it comes to you, then there is nothing he wouldn't do."

Damon chose this exact moment to burst through the door, interrupting the chat of the two girls. He smirked innocently at a glaring Caroline and asked:

"Well, how about that hot chocolate?"

Caroline huffed in annoyance, but still made her way back towards the kitchen. Just as Damon was about to do the same, Elena called him back:

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Damon turned around, his brows furrowed, his expression cautious and worried. He didn't know what exactly Stefan had done to her and couldn't make sense of Elena's behavior. He hated being in the dark about everything and not knowing how to act. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to sound as uncaring as possible, when he said:

"Sure, purge."

"I feel like my memories are locked. Like they are there, but just not wanting to come out. I mean, I do remember things, but only bits and pieces…"

A discouraged sigh escaped her lips and tearing uncomfortably at her hair, she continued:

"If it goes on like this, then it will take weeks for me to remember everything. I can't wait that long. I just regained a memory, which has to be wrong. It just has to be. It probably isn't complete and was a huge misunderstanding back then…or something."

Damon didn't even want to know what kind of a memory she was talking about. He was sure that whatever she had remembered wasn't misleading at all, but for now he was glad that she was in denial. It was how she protected herself from the harsh und hurtful reality. He was however confused about what she wanted from him:

"I don't think you can do anything about it."

"I want to drink more of your blood."

Elena blurted it out like it was a request just like any other, trying to cover up how much effort it cost her to say it out loud. In fact, this idea had come to her while she had been stumbling over the vast Salvatore property. After she had managed to stop the tears from coming, she had pretty quickly come to the conclusion that she shouldn't believe what she had just witnessed. It was impossible that the one person she trusted most would be a killer. As if that wasn't ridiculous enough, he was supposedly the murderer of her birthmother, which would mean that she had been adopted. Elena refused to go down that road, it was entirely too disturbing. Maybe her ring filled with vervain wasn't as foolproof as Damon thought, maybe Stefan had still been able to use compulsion on her.

Damon was her only straw back into her life, he couldn't turn out to be a liar and a monster. Elena clung herself with black despair to the past hours she had spent with him and the three previous memories. In fact, she didn't have one doubt about knowing the real Damon. Despite all of his claims that she only remembered him because of the blood, she was sure there was more to it than that. She had seen it in his eyes, she felt it in her own heart. She remembered him because of his blood, but also because he was her anchor, because they were connected.

Despite that understanding, Elena knew she desperately needed to remember everything. It was at that moment that she got the idea of needing to drink more of Damon's blood. Maybe intensifying the connection between them through his blood would elicit the rest of her memories. Perhaps it just hadn't been enough the last time and all she needed was a little more to fully remember everything.

Once she had made that decision, she felt better. She couldn't however ignore the small flame of fear burning in the back of her mind: how would she ask Damon to give her more blood? Would he even do it? Moreover, Elena was sure that drinking blood was a nauseating experience for a human and she was crazy for wanting to do it voluntarily. In the end, it was her only choice.

Damon's response to her demand was exactly as she had pictured it to be:

"Huh. You just can't get enough of me, can you?"

"I'm not joking, Damon."

"How is my blood the key to your memories?"

"Can we just try it? Please?"

Damon shook his head, not at all understanding where Elena's sudden request was coming from. At the same time he couldn't help being a little intrigued by the idea, but didn't want to discuss it any further with an eavesdropping Caroline in the other room.

"Can we talk about this later?"

"No, I want to do it now."

Damon smirked, because the old Elena was resurfacing more and more. Once her mind was set, nobody and nothing could stop her from getting what she wanted. This was the same fierce and determined attitude he had seen in her so many times over the last months.

"Why don't you ask Stefan to do it?", Caroline asked suddenly.

She was leaning against the doorpost, her face bearing an expression of confusion and slight disbelief. She had obviously caught every word of the conversation between the twosome and very much like Damon, she was more than just surprised by Elena's wish. While she knew that Damon would never take advantage of Elena, she still felt like she should stop her friend from making a decision she would soon regret.

"I don't…his blood is too weak."

Damon knew that Elena's hastily spit out excuse wouldn't persuade Caroline and he added:

"He's drinking human blood again, Blondie. I know you think he's a Saint, but he temporarily gave his halo over to the devil."

Caroline heard the truth out of Damon's bitter and frustrated voice and didn't know what to think anymore. She knew Stefan only as the good brother and this news was rocking her foundation. She feebly proposed:

"Maybe I could do it."

"No way, Caroline. You're a newborn. You, blood and a human is a very dangerous combination."

"Fine, but you're not going to do it here."

"Can you get me home, Damon?"

-

Only a few minutes later, Damon deposited Elena on the porch of her house and quickly disappeared again, as they had agreed that he would come in through the window. Inside the house, Elena only met Jeremy, who immediately asked her about Damon's mysterious text message from earlier. She told him something about having had a sudden urge for fresh air and hastily made her way up to her room. Damon was already sitting on the window sill, impatiently taping his feet. As she closed the door behind her, Elena became aware of her own nervousness and averting her eyes, she asked:

"So, how do we do this?"

An intoxicating smile started to play around Damon's lips and he replied, his voice low and sensual:

"You know, since I am giving you my blood…I think it would only be fair if I got something in return."

Elena tried to play dumb, even though his entire demeanor didn't leave a doubt about what he wanted.

"What do you mean?"

Damon only cocked his head to the side, doing something with his eyes, which Elena had by now qualified as the 'eye thing'. Elena couldn't help but let herself be sucked in by his paralyzing gaze and had a hard time trying to sound shocked:

"Damon! We are friends! Friends don't…."

Damon only snickered and got up, invading her personal space within seconds.

"You sure that we're just friends?"

His eyes wandered over her face like he was seeing her for the first time and Elena didn't even try to pull away. Damon's eyes had changed from light blue to dark blue and his suddenly glowing face made him look young and vulnerable. Elena had the abrupt urge to lift her hands and trace his features, but managed to restrain herself. A small voice inside of her warned her that she shouldn't just ignore what had happened in the morning. Still, she didn't miss Damon's eyes sweeping over her lips, nor his fingers stroking them briefly. Both of them noticed her skin burning like fire under his touch. They were back in their own little cocoon, where everything that was wrong in the world, was right.

Just as quickly as Damon had closed the distance between them, he pulled back again. Something in the air had changed, all the playfulness was gone. And then it was back again as Damon joked lightheartedly:

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Elena. I only wanted to ask you if I could borrow Mr. Teddy over there."

"The teddy bear?"

"Hmh."

"What the hell do you want with it?"

He shrugged his shoulders and said dismissively:

"Reminds me of you. Now, do you want my blood or not?"

Elena shook her head slightly confused, but quickly nodded in confirmation. Damon looked very business-like as he mentioned towards the bed:

"Great. Sit down."

Before Elena had the chance to ask for any further instructions, he bit his wrist and pressed it onto her opened mouth. She squinter her eyes as the first gulp of blood slid down her throat. It tasted just as nauseating as she had expected it to, but at the same time she felt life, warmth and energy starting to pulse through her. For a moment it seemed like Damon's essence was rushing through her body. She carefully peeked through her eyelashes to get a look at the vampire's face. For the first time ever did she notice the spark dancing in his eyes.

All of the sudden they heard footsteps stomping up the stairs and Damon immediately pulled back his wrist. He blurred into the adjoining bathroom to get a washcloth and wiped Elena's mouth clean. In the end, Jeremy passed in front of her door without coming in. Elena let out a sigh of relief and tried to gather her thoughts.

"Do you think it was enough?"

"Yep. If this doesn't do it, then it's not going to be because of the quantity."

Elena nodded and couldn't help but be a little disappointed as nothing seemed to happen. She tried to tell herself that she just had to give the blood a chance. Damon knew quite well what was going on in her and remarked:

"So what now?"

He wandered over to the other side of the bed and flopped onto it, adjusting his head comfortably on the pillow. Elena laid herself down on her side of the bed and turned towards him:

"Damon, what exactly happens when Stefan drinks human blood?"

"Elena, you have to know that a vampire always craves blood. The hunger never goes away. But over time you learn how to control the urge – if you want to, that is. Stefan has, for the longest time of his undead existence, been drinking animal blood and never learned how to control the desire for human blood. That's why he starts acting like a newborn as soon as he comes in contact with it. A newborn with a lot of repressed anger, hatred and guilt."

"Are you saying that he becomes dangerous?"

"Yes, Elena. He's not himself."

"So, the things he says and does under the influence of human blood, aren't…I mean, he's probably lying, right?"

Damon realized that he couldn't put off the question that had burned on his tongue the entire day, any longer. He had the feeling that he would regret it, but still asked:

"What exactly happened this morning?"

Elena had started to nervously fiddle with her teddy bear by now. Damon reached over and grabbed it, making the stuffed animal sit on his stomach. Elena observed him silently until it hit her: he had been lying on her bed in this exact same position just a few months ago.

With that realization, she remembered everything.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi everybody, I'm back…so the next two chapters are very different and full of flashbacks. I hope it's not too confusing and not too difficult to read. I actually never intended to write the story this way, but after seeing the last episode I somehow couldn't stop myself. So I do have to warn you that there could be some __spoilers __in the following chapters. I feel stupid saying that, because I'm sure none of this will happen on the show, but…just to be on the safe side, I'll do it anyway. The next chapter is "already" written and will be up tomorrow. Again, I'd love to get some feedback (-: _

**Chasing memories**

_A no good, very bad day_

With that realization, Elena remembered everything. Her entire life was unwinding itself in front of her eyes.

She remembered herself as a little girl, building a snowman together with her brother and her parents.

She recalled her first day in Highschool, walking through the hallway arm in arm with an excited Caroline and a reluctant Bonnie.

She saw herself waking up in the hospital and felt the pain after being told that her parents hadn't survived the car accident.

She remembered talking to Stefan for the first time outside the man's bathroom in her school, as well as her first encounter with the older Salvatore brother.

_You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother._

She relived finding out what Damon and Stefan were.

She recalled hating Damon and still never ceasing to search for the good in him. She ended up seeing more in him than just a bloodthirsty monster and over time, they had become friends. Damon became a friend she could always trust and count on.

_I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think of me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now you wanna kiss me._

_We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. _

_People die around you. How could it not matter? It matters and you know it. _

_You're not the worst company in the world, Elena. _

_I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it. _

And then, Elena recollected with horror how Damon had gone off the deep end after her rejection.

_You're the liar, Elena. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it. And you're lying to me, and you're lying to Stefan and most of all you're lying to yourself. _

The snapping of Jeremy's neck resonated cruelly in her ears. Elena gasped in shock as her brother's lifeless body dropped to the ground and her own scream filled her head. Only then was she reminded of Damon lying beside her on the bed, as he cautiously asked:

"Elena?"

She looked at him and noticed that he had come much closer, propping his head on his elbow. He was staring down at her, scrutinizing her face for some kind of an explanation for her behavior. If it hadn't been for his sensitive hearing, he would have missed the words dropping from her lips:

"You killed Jeremy."

Even though he had known this situation would come up sooner or later, Damon still had a hard time seeing the pain and terror on her face. He closed his eyes and whispered:

"And I regret having hurt you like that everyday."

All the emotions Elena had repressed and blocked out after the memory about her birthmother now came to the surface. The betrayal shook her to the core and she choked out:

"You said you would never do anything to hurt me."

"I broke that promise. It's why I lost your friendship."

_The answer is yes, Damon. You have lost me forever._

Suddenly their closeness became too much for Elena and she jolted up. Just as she was about to get off the bed, she felt Damon's hand encircling her waist and carefully pulling her back down. His entire face was contorted into an expression of deep regret and his voice was heavy and distressed when he said:

"I don't know if you ever forgave me or if you ever will."

His pained eyes bore into hers and he continued:

"But we became friends again."

_I am your friend, Damon. _

As more memories invaded her mind, Elena realized that she had maybe not forgiven him, but she had wanted him back in her life. She had recognized how much she needed Damon the day he had helped Stefan free her after she had been kidnapped. Elena saw herself standing at the top of a staircase, smiling full of relief down at Damon, who had just killed her abductor. All she wanted was to race into his arms and tell him that he hadn't lost her. Instead she found herself running into Stefan's arms, scared of what else she might want to tell the other brother, the wrong brother.

She now realized that Damon had confessed his love to her that same evening.

Elena recalled that soon after that, she had found out about the sun and the moon curse, the Originals and most importantly Klaus. Elena's blood ran cold when she revisited those scary times in her mind. There had been months of planning and searching for information on how to kill one of the oldest vampires.

_You're not listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is going to kill every last person that I love._

Eventually they had found a way how Klaus could be killed. The corresponding memories of the days before Klaus' arrival in Mystic Falls played in Elena's head like a movie…

_/Flashback/_

_It was a Monday. Elena had spent the entire weekend at home, trying to catch up on her assignments for school. While everybody around her was pl__anning the impossible, Elena felt more and more like being completely useless and powerless. She had to deal with the fact that the most feared of the Originals was after her, but also with the fact that her birthparents were constantly plotting with Katherine. Everyday she discovered more secrets, learned about new complots and was faced with another problem. She didn't really remember when she had gone back to giving herself up. At one point she just stopped fighting and tried to live her life as normally as she possibly could. She had decided that she would pretend that everything was all right, till the day Klaus would show up in Mystic Falls. Then she would sacrifice herself and save the people she loved. _

_However, that Monday, Elena was once again pulled into the plotting and conspiring. She had just returned home from school, when she received a message from Stefan asking her to come to the Boarding House as quickly as possible. Upon arriving she found Damon, Bonnie, Katherine, Isobel and Stefan sitting at the grand table in the living room. The two Salvatore brothers looked angry, Bonnie had a face as long as a fiddle, while Katherine and Isobel seemed to be rather content. _

_When Elena entered the room, every pair of eyes fixed her and she was sure she had never felt more uncomfortable.__ She knew that with Katherine and Isobel in the room, nothing good could come out of this meeting. No one greeted her, Stefan only mentioned to her to take the chair between him and Bonnie. _

_Isobel __was the one who spoke first: _

"_I found the site of the massacre."_

_Stefan and Damon had found that same information weeks ago in one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals. Apparently hundreds of witches had been murdered close to the place where the Salvatore brothers had been born and raised. The brutal slaughter caused all the witches to release some sort of power, which Bonnie was planning on using to kill Klaus. Still, Damon and Stefan had been careful to keep Katherine, Isobel and John in the dark about knowing the location of the spot marked with the mystical energy. Elena realized immediately that it was to their disadvantage that this information was now common knowledge. _

"_Isobel is pretty good when it comes to finding things. Stupid of you to think you could withhold that information from her," Katherine gloated._

_Elena's look-alike had become even more manipulative and insidious since she had noticed how much her former lovers were hiding from her. Katherine liked to be in control and was used to having everyone around her do it her way. The fact that the brothers only used her as a source of information didn't sit with well with her. _

_It was once again Isobel's turn to speak: _

"_That's actually not the only thing I found out."_

_As if her declaration wasn't suspenseful enough, she made a meaningful pause before continuing:_

"_I know when Klaus is coming to town. Exact date, exact time of day."_

_Damon remarked between clenched teeth:_

"_We would all be happy about that if this bitch would share her knowledge with the rest of the class." _

_Isobel gifted him with a malicious smile:_

"_But that's not part of the deal I made with Katherine."_

"_No shit."_

_She turned towards Elena and gracefully stood up, the black hair swaying over her shoulders. She slowly circled the table and explained:_

"_I once told you that you were doomed as long as you have a Salvatore brother on each arm. Since John didn't succeed in his plan to kill them with Jonathan Gilbert's device and also failed when he gave Damon the dagger to defeat Elijah…it is my turn to try my luck."_

_She sat down on the chair near Elena and purred:_

"_One of the two has to lure Klaus to the site and will have to keep him there when Bonnie channels the energy…one of the two will have to sacrifice himself for you."_

_Bonnie explained with a weak voice:_

"_I won't be able to direct the spell only at Klaus. It is too powerful – the spell will kill both of them."_

_Isobel nodded in agreement:_

"_That's my condition, Elena. You chose the one you want to survive and I will make sure Klaus dies within the first hour of his visit. Otherwise Katherine and I will take you with us…I'm sure Klaus will not leave anyone unharmed in this pathetic little town when he hears that you are hiding from him. So who will it be?"_

_Even though Elena knew by now that there were no redeeming qualities left in her birthmother, she was beyond shocked: _

"_You can't be serious…how can you be so cruel? You are asking me to send one of them to their death, to protect myself?"_

_Isobel gloated:_

"_Including your friends and loved ones."_

_Damon interrupted Isobel's threatening words by asking: _

"_How come you suddenly do what Isobel says, Katherine? As far as I know, following other people's orders has never really been your thing…"_

"_She's the one with the information."_

"_You were always good at getting information out of people."_

_Katherine only chuckled, but everybody around the table understood what she wasn't saying: she needed Elena's birthmother. Not only was Isobel the one with all the information, she was for the time being also the only one having access to hundreds of sources. Katherine knew that Isobel was the only one capable of organizing Klaus' downfall._

_A heavy silence laid itself upon the room, while Elena was still trying to grasp the severity of Isobel's words. She tried to make eye contact with Stefan, but it was in vain. Her boyfriend's eyes were locked on the mahogany table and nothing about his composure gave Elena hope. She pleadingly turned towards Damon, but he was busy sending death glares to Isobel and Katherine. Suddenly, he spit out in a monotone voice: _

"_Elena, it's okay. Just say it."_

_Elena__ was momentarily confused about what Damon meant, but then it slowly dawned upon her. He expected her to choose Stefan just like Katherine had done._

_Isobel had actually been the one to tell Elena about the deal, where Katherine had to choose which Salvatore brother she wanted to keep alive. Her birthparents had agreed to free Katherine from the tomb in exchange for the death of one of the two vampires. Katherine apparently hadn't had any difficulty making the choice - she wanted Stefan. In the end, Damon had survived through pure luck._

_Elena couldn't help but be hurt by the fact that Damon immediately expected her to do the same thing Katherine had done. He wasn't even putting up a fight, he just accepted that he had to sacrifice himself for her. This __was too much for Elena and she almost yelled out:_

"_No, Damon, never. I will not do something like that."_

_Katherine sneered__:_

"_Well then, it seems like you are ready to say goodbye to Jenna, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie…and here I thought you prided yourself in only loving Stefan."_

_Elena had to bite her tongue not to tell every single person on the table that no matter what they were planning, she would be the one and only to die in the end. At least if everything went according to her plan. For a moment she thought about blurting out Damon's name, just as a cover for her own plan. But she knew it would have broken his heart and she was incapable of hurting him that way. She already felt more and more similar to Katherine with every passing day. So she only said: _

"_I will not choose__."_

/_End Flashback/_

Elena slightly cringed at her own wording and was suddenly pulled out of her memories by Damon's worried voice:

"Elena, please. I know what I did to you and Jeremy can never –"

"I remember."

Damon was confused and asked:

"What do you remember?"

"Everything…I just remembered the deal Isobel wanted me to make."

Damon's eyes immediately lit up in recognition and he remarked, as if he could read her mind:

"You couldn't choose…"

Elena just opened her mouth to defend herself, when Damon interrupted her:

"You don't have to explain yourself, Elena. It was just weird...you proved that day that you cared deeply about me. With Katherine and Isobel against us, our hands were tied. Despite the fact that you were condemning everyone you love to death, you couldn't choose. I think it hurt Stefan - not consciously, but it still changed something between you two."

"What do you mean?"

"Elena, if history has proven anything, then that Stefan is selfish when it comes to love. He may be a harmless bunny-slayer, but he's got some jealousy issues."

Elena reluctantly agreed with the first part of Damon's statement. After all, Stefan had once told her that himself, when talking about his past with Katherine: _I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care that it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted her._

"But what was I supposed to say? Should I have just sentenced one of you to death -"

"To us it seemed like you'd rather sacrifice your family and friends than Stefan or me."

Elena had a hard time trying to understand what Damon had just told her. Finally the vampire at her side pulled her out of her thoughts by claiming:

"And then the boy with the hero-hairdo just stole the show."

Elena saw what he meant when the last part of the memory passed in front of her eyes.

_/Flashback/_

"_I'll do it."_

_Stefan's voice suddenly rang through the room and Elena almost choked. He continued, his voice sounding dead and emotionless:_

"_I have lived, Elena. You haven't. We had a great time together and I can't think about a better reason to die than to save you."_

_Isobel stood up, holding her hand towards Stefan. He took it and so they sealed the fateful deal. _

_/End Flashback/_


	10. Chapter 10

_And another trip down memory lane…__enjoy! Again: possible spoilers! I am planning on writing two more chapters for this story…thank you for your reviews!_

**Chasing memories**

_Poorly executed, awesome ideas_

Elena and Damon were still lying on her bed, his arm encircling her waist in a strong and comforting grip. Elena was trying to process all the memories flooding over her, when her stomach made a loud growling noise. The vampire at her side chuckled in delight at this so typically human sound and smugly remarked:

"Maybe we should catch up on that breakfast we missed this morning."

Elena wanted to shake her head as she had vowed not to leave the room before knowing everything. Still, the hole in her stomach was almost painful and so she carefully struggled out of Damon's embrace.

"Okay, but we are going to discuss the rest of my memories downstairs."

The twosome made its way into the kitchen and Damon immediately began to search through the fridge for anything useful. He soon announced:

"I'll make you pancakes."

Elena was unable to wipe the astonished smile off of her face as she observed Damon blurring through the kitchen, mixing the ingredients together in a matter of seconds. She momentarily wondered if this was what a relationship with him would be like. What kind of a boyfriend would he be? She giggled at the thought of Damon ever being called 'boyfriend' by anybody – somehow it didn't suit his reputation as the eternal stud and bad boy. Damon, who was now stirring the dough, cast her a curious look and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Elena chastised herself for the way her mouth went dry at his sight and tried to distract herself by getting back to the memories:

"So, Stefan wanted to sacrifice himself for me…"

_/Flashback/_

_The days following her horrifying visit at the Boarding House had been hell for Elena. She had tried numerous times to talk to Stefan, but she was unable to reach him. He didn't answer his phone and he was always gone when she showed up in his room. So, Elena__ had no choice but to get her own plan in motion._

_The first and most __disagreeable step of her plan involved talking to Isobel, who had made herself at home in a nearby hotel. Elena's heart was beating painfully against her chest, when she knocked on her birthmother's room door. One of Isobel's minions opened and invited her in, all the while smiling sweetly. Her birthmother was seated in a black-leather armchair, her legs crossed and her face showing something close to curiosity. She tilted her head to the side:_

"_Hello Elena. To what do I owe this pleasure?"_

_Elena stood awkwardly in the middle of the room and ignored Isobel's invitation to sit on a nearby sofa. Clearing her throat, she asked:_

"_How can you just take Stefan away from me? I can't lose him!"_

_Isobel laughed mockingly and shook her head, as if she couldn't believe her own daughter's stupidity._

"_So you came here to beg for his life? It's too late…I gave you the opportunity to save him."_

"_He's the man I love, Isobel. Wouldn't you try to save Alaric if he were in this situation?"_

_The mention of the man she once loved and deep down still loved, angered Isobel. However, her features were soon again as cold and impassive as always:_

"_You are wasting your breath, Elena. And my time."_

_Tearing up, Elena pleaded:_

"_Can I at least say goodbye to him? Can you at least do me that one favor?"_

"_We're not going to have time for a long tearful goodbye when Klaus comes into town."_

"_Can you call me and let me see him one last time before you take him away to meet Klaus?" _

_Before Elena knew what was happening, Isobel stood right in front of her. Elena felt Isobel's hand forcing her chin up in an almost painful grip:_

"_No tricks. If you try anything –"_

"_I won't. I promise."_

_When Elena left, she didn't know whether she had really gotten through to Isobel, but it was her only chance. She had to somehow know when Klaus would come into town and that made tricking Isobel necessary. She knew that Isobel had probably only agreed to her request, because that way she would be able to keep track of her daughter's movements the day of Klaus' arrival. _

_The second step was a favour from Caroline. She invited the bubbly blonde to come over one afternoon and while they were both sitting on her bed, Elena asked the young vampire, whose life had lately not been a piece of cake either: _

"_Caroline, could you give me a vial of your blood?"_

"_What? Why? You want to turn?"_

"_No, Caroline. I can't tell you why I need it…but please, as my best friend, can you just trust me?"_

_The words slipped easily out of her mouth, but inside it still hurt Elena badly to abuse Caroline's trust and friendship to such an extent. Caroline left soon after fulfilling her wish, ignorant about the fact that phase 2 of Elena's plan to sacrifice herself had just been completed. _

_The next step was__ to say goodbye to everyone. So, from that day on, every time Elena was with a friend or her family, she silently said goodbye. She would try to enjoy every minute she spent with them, but always knew in the back of her mind that it could be the last time. The vial of Caroline's blood and the knife in the purse, which she now carried everywhere, were a constant reminder of that. Being around her loved ones was pure torture, but surprisingly it was the hardest with Damon. He came over a lot, especially at night, just before she went to bed. He came through the window and told her about his day. He told her about any progress and any setback he had made in finding out more about Klaus. Sometimes he just came to take her mind of things by telling her stories about his travels through Europe. No matter what he did, Elena always had a hard time fighting back the tears and pretending that she was doing fine. It hurt her how desperately he wanted to save her and it hurt her that she would eventually break him. _

_Not being able to__ say goodbye to Stefan was painful, too. However, sometimes, Elena couldn't help but be glad that she didn't have to face him. She wasn't sure whether she would have the energy to lie to him, too. _

_In the end, Klaus came two weeks after the meeting with Isobel at the Boarding House. As if Elena's fate wasn't cruel enough, he came the day she expected him least to show up. _

_It was the day, where the whole town was in frenzy about the 60's dance, which would take place in the evening. Together with Bonnie and Caroline, Elena spent the entire day getting ready for the Decade Dance. Caroline had picked Jackie Kennedy's famous pink suit with the pillbox hat, while Bonnie was wearing something a little less flashy. She had chosen a dress laced with flowers and persuaded Elena to wear an extremely short purple miniskirt. _

_Elena wasn't really looking forward to the ball, as she didn't have an escort. Stefan still avoided her successfully, but Damon had ensured Elena that he was doing well under the c__ircumstances. Elena knew that Stefan was just as unable to face her as she was to face him, but it still pained her that he wouldn't be there for the dance. She remembered the 50's ball they had gone to and how he had impressed her with his dance moves. _

_Just as Elena fixed her hair-band, the doorbell rang and Caroline hurried to open it. To the girls' surprise, Matt and Jeremy weren't the only ones standing on Caroline's porch. Damon was there too, a smug smile on his face. Elena couldn't help but blush to the roots of her hair at the sight of the leather pants he was wearing. Caroline was the first one to regain the ability to speak:_

"_Damon, what are you doing here?"_

"_What does it look like I'm doing? I'm escorting my favorite human to the dance."_

_Damon approached Elena and took her hand, enthusiastically twirling her around. He gave her outfit an approving nod and asked:_

"_Ready to take over the dance floor?"_

_It turned out that Damon's dance moves were__n't so bad either. In fact, Elena hadn't had that much fun in a long time. In between her fits of laughter and the crazy show Damon and her pulled off on the dance floor, she almost completely forgot about the upcoming doom. _

_However, __in the middle of 'I saw her standing there' by the Beatles, Elena's phone started ringing. Even before seeing the name on the screen, she knew who it was. She mumbled something about Stefan calling and made her way through the crowd, quickly trying to get away from Damon. As soon as she was out of the door, she picked up the phone. Isobel's bored voice immediately lamented: _

"_Well finally. Come over to the Boarding House now."_

"_I'll be right there."_

_Without throwing another glance behind her, Elena jumped into her car. However, instead of driving to the Boarding House, she speeded towards the old Salvatore lands. She'd only been there once before – back when Stefan had tried to explain his long life as a vampire to her. Elena felt the tears swell up in her at the thought of how long ago that all seemed now._

_With squea__ling tires, she brought the car to a stop just in front of the two ruinous gateposts. Everything around her was pitch black, the darkness of the forest enveloping her in a threatening embrace. Elena couldn't explain it, but as soon as she left the car, she felt the vibe of another presence. She silently prayed that Isobel hadn't caught on to her deception. _

_The complete silence surrounding her slightly unnerved her, especially because her heart throbed that much louder. The gravel under her feet made traiterous crunching noises as Elena took a few steps forward, trying to discern something in the darkness. She wondered whether Katherine and Bonnie were already out here, as she hadn't seen her witch-friend at the ball anymore when she had left. Suddenly a very familiar voice resounded:_

"_I knew I'd find you here."_

_The body belonging to the voice appeared right in front of her just a couple of seconds later. _

_It was Damon. _

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I could ask you the same question."_

_Elena __felt panic rising up in her and gripping Damon's shoulders, she pleaded:_

"_Damon, I need to save Stefan. Where is he?"_

"_He's safe. Katherine is luring Klaus in as we speak."_

"_What?"_

"_Yes. But if you are searching for them, than you should know that they aren't here. We told you the wrong site. The witches were actually slaughtered close to the old Lockwood mansion."_

_Elena gasped as realization dawned upon her:_

"_You knew what I would do?"_

"_You can't fool me__."_

_Elena snorted in response and inquired, still not convinced:_

"_How did you get Katherine to take Stefan's place?"_

"_You're going to have to ask that boyfriend of yours about that."_

"_But what about Isobel? She – "_

"_Isobel may be the one with the information, but as soon as Klaus had arrived, she wasn't the powerful one anymore. Katherine is much older than her and had no problem incapacitating her."_

"_Is she going to succeed?"_

"_Katherine usually gets what she wants. Now, enough with the questions. Get in the car." _

_Elena only noticed how angry Damon really was when they were sitting in her car. Damon__'s hands were strangling the wheel and his eyes weren't the usual clear blue, but bloodshed and full of rage. He confirmed his emotional state when he snarled:_

"_So you were just going to leave us? You were just going to take the coward's way out?"_

"_I'm sorry."_

_Elena didn't even try to defend herself, knowing that nothing she would say could calm Damon. The older Salvatore brother spent indeed the entire ride home cussing and cursing, while Elena sank deeper and deeper into her seat. At one point he asked:_

"_What kind of suicidal plan did you actually have in mind this time?"_

_Elena hesitated before answering him, full aware of the fact that it would enrage him even further. Still, she owed him the truth:_

"_On the way over here, I drank a vial of Caroline's blood. I had a knife with me and I was planning on making a deal with Klaus by threatening him to turn myself. Since I would have been useless for the sacrifice as a vampire…"_

_Damon stared at her in disbelief:_

"_You were planning on turning?"_

"_I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. But I felt like Klaus would be easier to bargain with if I threatened to turn myself than if I just said I would kill myself. Maybe he would have still been able to use my blood, even if I'd been dead."_

"_What kind of a deal were you planning on making?"_

"_The same thing I made Elijah promise: to take me, but leave my friends and family unharmed." _

"_Are you saying that your masterplan involved Klaus staying alive?"_

"_There was no other solution…I knew I couldn't get Bonnie to do the spell with me there."_

_/End Flashback/_

Elena was abruptly taken back to the present when Damon slid a plate with a deliciously looking pancake over to her. He sat down on a chair beside her and gave her a fork:

"Dig in, darling."

Elena smiled gratefully at him and didn't hesitate to fill her stomach with Damon's pancake. Between bites, she managed to remark:

"I just remembered that Stefan made a deal with Katherine."

"Aah yes, the juicy part. Definitely wasn't any fun when you confronted him about that."

Elena nodded as she remembered her own actions.

_/Flashback/_

_Bonnie had been the one to deliver her the news: Klaus is dead._

_Elena hadn't believed her at first. The day she had never even dared to hope for, had arrived after all. Elena was used to her brain going into overload because of bad news, but not because of good news. The emotions running through her were completely overwhelming. Till that day, Elena didn't even know that a human could feel so unbelievably happy, free and lightheaded as she had felt right then. Elena did however manage to ask:_

"_And Katherine?"_

"_She made it out, she survived."_

_There was clear regret in Bonnie's voice, who hated the bloodsucking vampire more than anything. Elena, however, was somehow glad that no one had to die for her, even if it was her evil look-alike. The days following Klaus' defeat passed by in a haze. Everyone needed time to digest the victory and they all assured themselves more than once that Klaus was really nothing more than a pile of dust. _

_Elena just enjoyed being able to spend time with Jenna and Jeremy, without having to worry about losing them. __The whole world suddenly seemed a so much brighter and colorful place and Elena couldn't get enough of admiring it. She did however miss Damon, who suddenly didn't knock on her window anymore. At one point, Stefan came back into her mind and she realized that she had finally the strength to be with him again. She hoped that she could work things out with him, now that the horizon looked so much better. _

_Three days after Klaus' death she made her way over to the Boarding House, praying that she would for once find both Salvatore brothers there. As soon as she pushed the front door open, Damon appeared in front of her, smiling widely:_

"_And here I thought you had forgotten about me."_

"_I missed you."_

_It slipped out of Elena's mouth before she could stop it. Damon's eyes widened in surprise and he seemed to be speechless for a moment. Suddenly he turned around and revealed his brother, not standing far behind him. Damon smirked at the other vampire and dismissively mocked:_

"_How cute…she missed you. How anyone could miss that brooding forehead is beyond me though." _

_He threw Elena a quick glance, before disappearing into the parlor. Elena felt the lump in her throat forming instantly and had to concentrate on Stefan to keep herself from calling after Damon. She hoped that he'd only done it to save her from an awkward conversation with Stefan. She smiled tentatively at the younger Salvatore brother and greeted him shyly: _

"_Hi. How are you?"_

_Stefan approached her hesitantly and replied, his green eyes piercing into hers:_

"_I'm good. How about you?"_

"_I'm relieved, happy…I haven't felt like this in a long time. It's strange, not to have to worry about anybody's safety for once."_

_A glimmer of guilt appeared in Stefan's eyes as he said:_

"_I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. It was just hard –"_

"_It's okay, Stefan. We all survived, that's what matters."_

_It really wasn't okay, but Elena didn't want to argue with him. She didn't want to talk about what should have been, she only wanted to talk about their future. She hadn't dared to use the future tense in such a long time. Stefan seemed to want to continue explaining his behavior, but accepted Elena's refusal to listen. Instead he lifted his hand to her shoulder and softly caressed over it:_

"_It's good to see you."_

_Despite standing so close to each other, there was a huge distance between them. Elena couldn't help but feel like she was facing a stranger. Still, she smiled bravely up to him and asked:_

"_We should do something. Maybe leave Mystic Falls for a couple days to get some alone time."_

_As soon as she had proposed this, Stefan's face was overshadowed by multiple emotions__ and the guilt in his eyes turned from a glimmer into a burning flame. His voice was rough when he replied:_

"_I'm sorry, I can't. I promised __some old friends to visit them as soon as I could. I…I know that this is an awful time. But…I couldn't come up with another excuse when they called me and so I agreed to come."_

_Stefan had apparently realized that he was babbling, because he abruptly stopped. Elena __was completely taken aback by the fact that Stefan was outright lying to her. What was he hiding from her? What didn't he want to tell her? She was so confused that she only said:_

"_Yeah, okay. When are you leaving?"_

"_This afternoon."_

"_When will you come back?"_

"_I don't know yet. I will do my best to return as soon as possible."_

_Elena suddenly knew what bugged her so much: there was defeat in his voice. The defeat had been there since she had entered the Boarding House. In the last days, Elena had only talked to people who were over the moon because of the victory over Klaus. Stefan's demeanor however didn't show one trace of that happiness. _

"_I still need to pack my suitcase. I should go…"_

_Stefan awkwardly turned around to go upstairs, when Elena stopped him:_

"_Stefan, what kind of a deal did you make with Katherine?"_

"_What? I didn't make a deal with her."_

"_But, Damon said that you somehow got her to take your place."_

_Stefan bitterly dismissed this:_

"_She actually didn't want anything in return. She knew that she had a chance to survive, since she's that much stronger and faster."_

"_Okay…well, I'll just go into the living room. Maybe we can talk when your suitcase is packed." _

_The vampire nodded and fled out of the vestibule, rapidly climbing the stairs. For the first time since Klaus' defeat, Elena felt powerless once more. She trotted into the living room and almost turned around again, when she saw Damon standing by one of the tables, in his hands a glass filled with Bourbon. She didn't want to have to answer something like 'Trouble in paradise?', she didn't want see his gloating face. However, Damon surprised her by silently handing her his glass, his face slightly concerned. _

_Elena drank the alcohol before thinking twice about it, trying to wash away the bad taste the conversation with her boyfriend had left behind. Stefan and her had been such a strong couple and she didn't understand how they had ended up not being able to talk to eachother. There had been a time where she had thought that nothing could tear them apart, but she had obviously fooled herself. She whispered:_

"_Why is he leaving?"_

"_Elena, it's not my place to tell yo__u that."_

_She was on the verge of tears now and begged:_

"_Please, Damon."_

_Damon threw his head back in exasperation, hating how much seeing Elena hurt, affected him. He sighed dramatically: _

"_Because Katherine asked him to."_

_/End Flashback/_

_A/N: Is it too confusing? Somehow it was so much simpler in my mind^^ Anyway, I know I didn't explain Klaus' death in anymore detail, but I felt like that would have just been too much. I hope it still somehow makes sense…in the next chapter Elena finally remembers the accident._


	11. Chapter 11

_Enjoy! I love reading all your reviews - so keep them coming^^_

**Chasing memories**

_You saved my life once_

_/Flashback/_

"_Because Katherine asked him to?"_

_Damon was clearly uncomfortable in his own skin, but Elena __mercilessly insisted:_

"_Damon, tell me about the deal he made with Katherine! Please!"_

_If Stefan had been drinking human blood, he probably would have overheard the conversation between his brother and his girlfriend. He would have without a doubt stopped Damon from revealing the truth:_

"_It'__s part of the deal Katherine made with him. She offered to take his place in luring Klaus to the spot and in return Stefan would leave Mystic Falls with her. Since Isobel and John would never tolerate both of us staying here…"_

_Elena shook her head, as if she was trying to convince herself that she had heard wrong. Her eyes pleaded Damon to take everything back or __to admit that he had just made a really bad joke. Her voice was breaking when she asked:_

"_He's leaving? Forever?"_

"_I don't know, Elena. But for now, he's leaving."_

"_With Katherine?"_

_Damon only nodded and saw realization dawning upon Elena's face. By now she was unable to hold back the sobs and she had to support the weight of her body by holding on to one of the bookshelves._

"_But why? What did I do?"_

_Damon had never felt more helpless in his long undead life – the woman he loved was breaking apart in front of him. Because of her boyfriend, because of his own brother. After all, he felt just as betrayed as she did. While he had spent the last days trying to find a way to save both Stefan and Elena, he hadn't known anything about the deal his brother had made with Katherine. In fact, right after Elena had left him at the ball, he had gotten a call from Stefan telling him that Katherine was taking his place and that he should make sure Elena was safe. Later he had found out that Stefan and Katherine had sealed the deal already days before Klaus' arrival. _

_Damon knew exactly why Katherine had confr__onted Klaus, the one man on this planet she was scared of. She didn't want to loose Stefan and at the same time, she had finally understood that it would take much more than words to prove her love to him. Her plan had succeeded. Indeed, no one had ever done so much to prove their love to Stefan. _

_Damon was just trying to find something appropriate to say to Elena, when she stormed out of the room and up the stairs. The older Salvatore brother was waiting for the screaming to start, but instead everything went abruptly silent. Everything except for Elena's heartbeat, which was so loud and fast that Damon was sure her chest would burst any second. And then her voice thundered through the house:_

"_You! Get out!"_

_The__ bare hatred emanating from Elena immediately made Damon realize that she wasn't talking to Stefan, but to Katherine. This was confirmed only seconds later:_

"_How come you never thank me for saving your life?"_

_As soon as __he heard the voice of his evil slut of an ex, Damon speeded towards the stairs and saw the two women standing at the top. Katherine was casually leaning against the railing while Elena stood inches away from her, her whole body shaking from anger:_

"_Haven't you caused enough damage, Katherine? When will you finally stop torturing them?"_

"_Who are we talking about now?"_

_Katherine's whole attitude infuriated Elena only further and her voice was by now so loud, that the whole town of Mystic Falls could probably hear her:_

"_You are destroying them! First Damon, now Stefan! And why? Just because you can't stand the fact that they are not pining after you anymore?"_

_Katherine observed her enraged doppelganger calmly and responded with an amused grin:_

"_Oh, but that's where you're wrong…one of them is still pining after me."_

"_You tried to kill Damon. He hates you! How delusional are you to think that he still loves you! And should you ever try to hurt him again –"_

"_I'm not talking about Damon."_

_Katherine's hand traced slowly along the railing, giving Elena time to think about what she had just said. Then she continued:_

"_Damon is the one who has moved on…not far, considering he's now in love with you…but that's still more than I can say for Stefan."_

"_What?"_

_Katherine giggled like a young girl when she saw the expression on Elena's face. It was the horror arising from the realization that Katherine spoke the truth. At that moment, Stefan finally came out of his bedroom, his eyes wide as he took in the scene before him. Tears of an impressive size were by now running down Elena's cheek and her voice hoarse from all the shouting, she whispered:_

"_No, Stefan. Tell me she's lying."_

_Stefan's lack of an answer told Elena everything she already knew. Stefan was going to leave her for Katherine, whether he was in love with her or not. Stefan hadn't forgiven her for the fact that she hadn't been able to choose, he hadn't forgiven for the fact that Damon and her were so close. He saw the Katherine of 1864 in her. Elena didn't even have the strength to tell him that she did try to save him._

_The next and last thing Elena knew was that she stormed towards Katherine, attacking her with her fists. _

_And then there was only impenetrable haze mixed with a lot of pain._

_/End Flashback/_

"Oh god, I tried to beat up Katherine?"

Damon, who had observed the different emotions passing across Elena's face for the last minutes, realized that she finally remembered what had happened to her:

"Yes, you did. One hell of a crazy thing to do. It would have been a great girlfight, if Katherine hadn't cheated. She threw you against the wall and then down the stairs."

Suddenly rueful, he added:

"I didn't even catch you. I was just…"

Elena put her hand over his and soothed his worries:

"I made it out, didn't I? No need to beat yourself up about the past."

"Are you ever going to finish that pancake?"

Elena smiled at Damon's successful attempt to ruin their moment and shoved another bite into her mouth. Elena noticed for the umpteenth time how glad she was that Damon was there. Somehow, his mere presence instantly calmed her and the waves of blank anger she had felt during the memory slowly seeped out of her. He was here and he wouldn't leave her. Now that she remembered everything about him, she was more certain of that than ever before. They had been through so much together, with him at her side she could master any hurdle. As if he could read her mind, the handsome vampire remarked:

"You know, you're doing fairly well, considering the stuff you just remembered."

Elena nodded and pensively explained:

"The entire last days have been crazy…I think they kind of prepared me for my memories. I knew my past would be anything but normal. And I have you, right?"

"Yes, you do."

Elena couldn't help but smile at this confirmation. Even now that she remembered Stefan and their love for one another, Damon was the one she felt closest to.

Stefan had been there for her during a time, where she had been the gloomy graveyard girl who struggled with the grief about her parents' death. Stefan had helped her to find a way back to life, after she was sure she would walk around like a ghost for the rest of her existence. Stefan had always spread an aura of safety, faithfulness and warmth.

_Damon, listen to me. I care about you, I do. But I love Stefan, it's always going to be Stefan._

There had been times where Stefan really had been the one for her. He had smothered her with attention and love, he had always been her rock to lean on. But then Damon had shown her a completely different side of life. The passionate, dangerous and wild side of life. And somehow things had changed. She wouldn't be able to say when the change had exactly taken place, she only knew that she had tried to fight the truth for a long time.

She had always seen Stefan as the pure, romantic and innocent one, even though she had apparently been blinded. Damon was the powerful, exhilarating and complicated one. The one who brought out sides in her, she didn't even know she possessed. The one who made her strong. The one who had been there for her when things got really difficult. Who would have thought that the evil brother would one day turn out to be the good one? Who would have thought that Damon would one day be the one causing the butterflies in her stomach? Elena shook her head and asked:

"So why didn't Stefan leave after all?"

"The fact that Katherine almost killed you, woke him up. Stefan might be a blockhead, but there Katherine just went too far."

Elena had finally emptied her plate and went over to the sink, pilling it on top of the mountain of other dishes. Damon appeared behind her and said:

"I'll do the washing, you do the drying."

The pair was in the middle of a water and soap fight, when Jenna and Jeremy came back home. Jeremy had a knowing look on his face at the sight of his sister's wet hair, while Jenna's expression immediately turned hard. She asked, her eyes sending daggers:

"What is he doing here?"

Damon threw his hands up in mock surrender and said:

"He's already leaving."

He demonstratively handed Jenna the dish liquid and smiled cockily at Elena before leaving the kitchen. Elena eyed her aunt somewhat confused, before following Damon:

"Hey wait. Where are you going?"

Damon smirked at Elena's frantic tone and abruptly turned around, leaving only a few millimeters of space between their bodies. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, his voice velvet:

"I'll be back tonight. It's about time we pick up that habit of nightly visits again, don't you think?

"Let's hope Jenna doesn't catch you. Why does she still hate you?"

Damon shrugged his shoulders, like he couldn't care less about Jenna's opinion of him. Still, he said:

"Maybe Stefan told your aunt a slightly different story about the accident."

At the mention of the other Salvatore, Elena sighed slightly pained:

"I have to talk to Stefan sometimes soon."

"You shouldn't do it alone."

"I don't think you being there would be such a good idea, Damon."

"At least take Vampire Barbie with you."

Elena smiled at Damon's idea and whispered, poking him in the chest:

"Deep down in that dark soul of yours, you like her much more than you let on."

He chuckled and acknowledged:

"Caroline's not all bad."

Damon's hand wandered tenderly over Elena's neck and he continued, trying in vain to hide the trouble storming in him:

"What do you want to talk to him about anyway?"

Elena averted her eyes from under his stare and answered:

"I need a proper breakup. We owe each other at least that. It's hard, knowing that he won't be in my life anymore. At least not the way he was before. But I also feel like a weight is being lifted of my shoulders, now that I finally see things clearly."

While his mind went crazy with joy after Elena mentioned her reason for wanting to talk to Stefan, Damon was confused about the last part of her statement:

"What are you saying?"

Elena hesitated for a moment and then, pointing from him to herself, declared:

"This has always been more than just an understanding. You realized that a long time before I did."

Damon drew in a sharp breath as his mind registered what Elena had just led on.

"What's going to happen after that breakup?"

"Damon, if we do this, then we have to take it slow. I just regained my memory. I remembered a life which is crazier than any fantasy book I've ever read. I need time. Time to find myself again, time to adjust and understand."

"But we are going to do this?"

Just like Elena, Damon underlined his 'this' by pointing from her to himself. They were both not ready to name whatever was between them, whatever would be between them.

Elena only nodded in response, her eyes drinking in every detail of his face. The air around them changed suddenly, it was thick with tension, electricity and flames waiting to be ignited.

But it became too much for Damon. He had gone through hell when he had realized that he was in love with Elena. It had been worse than torture when he had realized that he would love her and only her, forever. He couldn't go back to that place, especially not when he had just found a way to be around her and close to her again. They had a great friendship and the last time he had tried to become more, it had ended really badly for them. He abruptly blurred away from Elena and his voice strangled, he said:

"You're just thankful that I was here for you. You're just mad at Stefan. You're just exhausted after all those memories. You don't mean this."

Hadn't Elena seen that his pupils weren't dilated, she would have been sure that he had just tried to compel her. There was incomparable desperation written all over his face and in a swift move, he opened the front door and stepped outside. Elena ran after him and grabbed his arm, like her life depended on it:

"Damon, please don't. Don't leave."

She intensified her grip on his arms and laid her other hand on his chest, exactly there where his heart had once been beating:

"For once, just be selfish with me. Don't do the selfless thing. "

Damon sighed in exasperation, his entire body in turmoil. Part of him wanted to leave as quickly as possible, the other part of him wanted to shove Elena against the wall and kiss her until she had forgotten her own name. Instead he locked her hands with his, holding them tightly against his body:

"If we do this, Elena, you have to mean it. All the way. I refuse to be your pillow you can cry on at night, I refuse to be your replacement for Stefan. Promise me that you want me, me alone and out of the right reasons. Promise me that you won't run away the first time things don't go the way they should. Promise me that you will fight for us."

Damon's outburst was followed by heavy silence. He had the same hurt and heartbroken look on his face as during his confession a couple of months ago. Elena knew that Katherine wasn't the only one to be blamed for that, she even caught herself wondering whether she herself hadn't caused much more damage than her evil carbon copy. She tried to convey how deeply and truly she meant it, when she said:

"I promise."

Damon shook his head at the impossibility of the situation. Elena had believed that they would never be able to defeat Klaus, while he had never doubted that. He had actually never believed that the day would come, where Elena told him that she wanted him. As more than just a friend.

"You do remember, that just a few months ago you saw in me nothing more than, I quote, 'a first-rate jackass'?"

"I always saw more in you. I just didn't want to admit it. Especially with Katherine around."

Fidgeting with his shirt, she suddenly asked:

"Your feelings haven't changed, have they? I mean since the confession you wanted me to forget…"

Damon couldn't help but chuckle at Elena's obvious insecurity. Her vulnerable doe brown eyes persuaded him to admit truthfully:

"No, they haven't."

She smiled up at him and whispered:

"Good."

He only hummed in response, admiring the sun dancing in Elena's dark silky hair. He'd always seen a goddess in her, but right now she was so insanely beautiful that his breath hitched. He leaned forward and put a soft kiss on her forehead, just to confirm that she was real. That this was real. He wondered mischievously:

"Since you want to take it slow…how about we try being friends with benefits?"

"Girls like me don't do friends with benefits. I was thinking you could take me out sometimes."

"Like on a date? I don't think guys like me do dates."

"You're just going to have to make an exception for me."

"Is this how it's going to be from now on? You want something and I say yes?"

"Sounds good to me."

Damon's chest shook with silent laughter. It was odd how couply their conversation felt already.

"Yeah, I don't think so. I will want something in return every time you make me do something."

"Well, you already have my teddy bear. Are you going to raid my entire room of all its items?"

"The drawer with your underwear…yes, definitely. But for now, I was thinking more along the lines of a kiss."

"Damon…do you even know what taking it slow means?"

His arms sneaked around her shoulders and he whispered, his mouth dangerously close to her ear:

"Just one kiss."

The warmth of his breath against her skin tormented her and his touch was making any kind of protest utterly impossible. Damon leaned his forehead against hers, his blue eyes staring straight into hers, silently asking and begging for permission. Now that he knew that a part of her heart belonged to him, he didn't want to wait any longer. And maybe he just wanted her to know what it felt like to kiss him before she went off to talk to Stefan. Elena feebly whispered:

"Damon."

The way she said his name sounded so much like the day, she had first seen him again after the accident. It ripped every last wall Damon had built around him down and without further hesitation, he lowered his lips to hers.

As soon as he captured her mouth with his, a myriad of colors exploded in front of Elena eyes, a myriad of emotions clouded her brain. The kiss was exactly like him – passionate, breathtaking, hungry and still gentle. His hands cupped her face as if he was afraid she would disappear into thin air if he didn't hold on to her. Tasting Elena turned his organs into a tangled mess and the force of his love for her almost threw him of his feet.

When they finally broke apart, both trying to get air back into their lungs, Elena whispered:

"Thank you for saving me."


	12. Chapter 12

_All right, this is it – the last chapter! I have never written something longer than 5 pages before (must be the power of Delena) and I can't believe how much fun this has been! I'm sure I could have done so much more with this, but I wanted to be certain that I would be able to complete it. Thank you so much for all your support! Your reviews are absolutely amazing and every single one of them puts a huge smile on my face. __I hope that this last chapter doesn't disappoint… I hope to see all of you again the next time I write something - even though that is probably not going to be anytime soon, because I have to get back to studying for university. With that said, enjoy!_

**Chasing memories**

_Btw, that means by the way_

Punctually at 9am, Caroline stood on Elena's porch, ready to drive her friend over to the Boarding House. An overjoyed Elena had called her the day before to share the news about the end of her amnesia. Caroline immediately proposed to throw a huge party to celebrate her complete recovery, but Elena had stopped her, saying that she needed to talk to Stefan first. She had then asked if Caroline could accompany her as she felt uncomfortable facing the bloodthirsty vampire on her own.

Caroline still couldn't believe that Stefan was drinking human blood again – she had heard all of the horror stories about the last time Stefan hadn't been able to control himself. Then again, she herself had given up Stefan's diet after noticing that the animal blood was flavorless and boring compared to the human stuff, even if it came out of Damon's blood bags. And there was this small problem she had with killing cute defenseless animals.

As soon as Elena had closed the front door behind her, she greeted her friend with a strong hug:

"Hi Caroline. Thank you for coming."

Caroline returned the embrace, glad to have the old Elena back in her life. The two girls made their way over to the car and Caroline asked, hoping Elena could finally enlighten her:

"So, do you remember why you ended up in the hospital?"

Elena nodded, her face showing both a touch of pain and shame:

"I was mad at Katherine and Stefan and…I kind of attacked her. Katherine threw me down the stairs and I hurt my head and my back. That's why I lost my memory."

Caroline seemed speechless for a moment and only when she was sitting behind the wheel, did she manage to ask:

"What did Stefan do?"

Elena's voice was full of bitterness and frustration:

"He was planning on leaving with Katherine, or me for her. Whatever."

Caroline almost drove the car of the road the moment her brain registered Elena's words. There was no one Caroline hated more than Katherine, who had been the one to turn her into a vampire. Additionally Katherine had abused her as her spy by threatening to kill Matt. Caroline was unable to understand why her good friend Stefan would even as much as be nice to Katherine.

Despite all the questions cumulating up inside of her, Caroline saw how much it was hurting Elena to talk about the events before the accident. So, she didn't insist any further and remarked:

"By the way, Damon called me this morning. He told me that if I didn't bring you back home in one piece, I'm as good as dead. He said he was unable to be there himself. I think, he mumbled something about having to organize a date…Whoever the poor girl is, my heart goes out to her."

Caroline made a dramatic pause to get her point across, before continuing:

"Anyway, I just thought you should know that you better not do anything to irritate Stefan."

Elena snorted in response, wondering how she should breakup with human-blood-drugged Stefan without irritating him. She decided on not telling Caroline about her plans, out of fear the blonde vampire would turn the car around. So, she changed the subject by talking about school, which would pick up again in one week.

Five minutes later, the two girls arrived at the Boarding House and made their way inside. Caroline perked up her ears and informed Elena:

"He's in the cellar. Probably getting something to drink."

Elena sighed dejectedly and slowly descended the stairs into the cold and musty rooms lying under the mansion. Caroline followed close behind her and they found Stefan sitting on the stone floor, leaning against the brick wall. He was staring at the fridge filled with blood bags standing at the opposite side of the room, his face mirroring the battle going on inside of him. He was so lost in his thoughts that he only noticed the two girls as they entered the room. He immediately jumped up and greeted Elena warily:

"Hey! Is everything all right?"

Elena swallowed hard before explaining:

"I came here to talk to you. Can we go upstairs?"

Stefan knitted his brows, knowing from the sound of Elena's heavy voice that she had bad news for him. He merely nodded in response and trotted after the two girls into the much friendlier living room. The human blood running through his veins clouded his senses, but his mind was clear enough to understand why his girlfriend wasn't alone. Caroline was here to protect her. To protect her from him. It took him a great effort to stay calm.

Elena went into the parlor and sat down on the couch, while Caroline approached the book shelves, pretending to be captivated by a worn out copy of _Gone with the wind._ Stefan seated himself on an armchair standing in one of the corners and asked:

"How have you been?"

"I'm okay. You?"

Stefan shrugged his shoulders, leaving Elena's question unanswered. Instead, he whispered:

"I've missed you."

Elena cast her eyes down, the whole situation completely overstraining her. Despite what Stefan had done to her in the past, she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want them to go their separate ways hating each other. In the end, Elena decided she had no choice but to go like a bull at a gate:

"Stefan…I remember. Everything."

If this news shocked or surprised Stefan in any form, then his face certainly didn't give anything away. It was merely the impatient tapping of his feet, which showed a change in his attitude. He cleared his throat and asked:

"You know what happened?"

Elena barely nodded in affirmation, but it seemed enough to confirm Stefan's deepest fears. He covered his face with his hands and a strangled growl came out of his mouth. After a minute of silence, he slowly lifted himself up and approached the sofa. Elena noticed out of the corner of her eyes that Caroline had lost every interest in the book and was now coming closer as well. However, the blonde vampire stopped herself from interfering when she saw that Stefan merely dropped to his knees in front of Elena, holding her hands in his.

Elena's mind immediately wandered back to a similar scene having happened only a few days ago in this same place – she had been sitting on the couch with Damon on his knees before her, asking her if she would wear the ring filled with vervain. With shame and guilt, Elena realized once more how history was repeating itself. Seeing the parallels between Katherine and her, pained Elena more than she wanted to admit. Who was she to judge Stefan?

"What I did, Elena, is unforgivable. Katherine…she got to me. The days before Klaus' arrival, I was so scared. Scared of dying, scared of losing you. When Katherine offered me the deal, I saw a way for you and me to get through this, to survive."

"I know…I just whish you would have told me. Stefan, I wanted to talk to you. I came to the Boarding House practically every day just to see you, but you were never here. And then, when we did see each other again, you lied to me. You lied to my face."

Stefan meekly explained:

"I didn't think you'd understand, Elena. I mean, I was going to leave with Katherine. You hate her."

Elena drew in a sharp breath at his words and whispered:

"There was a time, when you hated her too."

"How can I hate her when she was the one, who saved both of us?"

Stefan was clearly frustrated with Elena's inability to understand him and he got up from the floor, letting her hands go. Lifting his arms helplessly into the air, he lamented:

"What she did to you, was awful. You were never supposed to get hurt. But Damon is the one who is to blame here – he had no right to tell you that I was leaving with Katherine. None of this would have happened, if he had for once kept his mouth shut. Your ignorance was for your protection."

"I would have found out about it anyway. I would have been able to draw the right conclusions, the moment you and Katherine are suddenly both gone. Don't blame this on your brother, Stefan."

Elena slowly felt the anger rising up in her again. No matter how hard she tried to see the good in Stefan, it just wasn't working. Giving it one last try, she wondered:

"How long have you been drinking human blood again?"

Stefan immediately tensed up and answered clearly defensive:

"The human blood has nothing to do with my decisions."

He didn't tell Elena that he had in fact changed his diet the day, he had confronted Damon about his visit to the hospital. He had realized then that he would never be able to keep his brother away from his girlfriend if he continued to drink the animal blood. Just like last time, he was struggling with control, but Stefan blamed that more on the bad luck he was having lately than on the human blood. First his brother, who had apparently remembered his promise to Stefan of 'turning his life into an eternity of misery'. Then Katherine, who had been unable to understand that he couldn't hold his end of the bargain, not when Elena was suffering from amnesia.

The younger Salvatore brother continued, as if he wanted to convince himself more than Elena:

"We can work this out. It's just going to take some time. What we had, it can't just be gone. We're fine."

Elena knew it was time to tell the desperate man before her, what she had come for. She was breaking both of their hearts, when she said:

"I'm sorry, Stefan. I can't, not this time."

It took Stefan a considerable amount of time before he asked, his voice hollow:

"You're breaking up with me?"

"This is not right anymore, Stefan. I can't trust you–"

"Don't!"

Stefan's loud and threatening interruption of Elena made even Caroline jump a few feet backwards. The younger Salvatore brother started to pace across the living room, desperately trying to calm himself. Elena didn't dare to make one move and only silently observed Stefan burning a hole into the floor. Suddenly Stefan was right in front of her again and pleaded:

"Elena, when did you stop believing in us? We are supposed to be together, always."

By now Elena couldn't hold back the tears anymore and she truthfully denied:

"Maybe were not. Maybe we're supposed to be friends, hopefully best friends one day. We never had a chance to try that."

"What I feel for you, Elena, is love. Not friendship. How can you expect me to…"

Resignation and pain marked Stefan's eyes, when he slowly realized that he wouldn't be able to change Elena's mind. He had lost her. Not just for a week or a month. He had lost her for good. He felt the hunger and the endless anger boiling up in him once more. As soon as the thought of the beautiful vein pulsing under the skin of Elena's neck crossed his mind, he whispered:

"Get out. Both of you. Now!"

Caroline was the one who registered first that Stefan was about to lose control. She blurred over to her friend, snatched her from the canapé and speeded out of the house. She ignored Elena's small shriek of surprise and quickly dropped her onto the passenger seat. As soon as Caroline had put some distance between them and the Boarding House, she said:

"So much about not irritating him…"

Elena felt like she had done enough apologizing for the day and only nodded ruefully. She knew that her conversation had been bound to end badly from the start, but it still pained her that the last thing she had seen was the hunger and hatred on Stefan's face. There had been a time where she thought that Klaus had died without claiming any victims. Elena now realized that it had destroyed Stefan and her. But at the same time it had allowed the start of something new. Her heart warmed at the thought of Damon and an unconscious smile appeared on her face.

"You're seriously smiling? Maybe I didn't get the joke, but what the hell is so funny about what just happened?"

Elena hastily wiped the smile off of her face:

"Nothing, Caroline, nothing."

Caroline seemed to contemplate this for a moment, before she blurted out:

"There's a new guy, isn't there?"

This took Elena completely of guard and she only managed to stutter:

"I…it's really too early to…"

Caroline gave her smug smile and while she was bringing the car to a stop in front of Elena's house, she stated:

"Let me guess, the poor girl who's going on a date with Damon tonight, is the person sitting right next to me."

Elena cursed her cheeks for instantly giving her away by turning crimson red. While she had been lying in bed the night before, she had contemplated how everyone would react to Damon and her being in a relationship. She had decided that Jenna would probably suffer from an outburst of fury, Jeremy would make some smartass-comment, Bonnie would cancel their friendship and Stefan would hate her more than death itself. She had not really been sure what Caroline's reaction would be. However, her friend did not disappoint her:

"It's okay, you know. I've always thought that you needed some adventure and excitement in your life…I mean the good kind, not the deathly and gloomy kind. Damon can give you that."

Elena felt relief wash over her at Caroline's words, immensely happy about the support. She whispered:

"What am I going to do about Stefan, though? I'm scared he's going to fly out the handle because of the human blood and the breakup. He can't find out about Damon and me, not yet."

Oppressive silence fell over the car, until Caroline announced:

"I'm going to take him out of the town for a week or two. The change of scenery is going to do him good. Maybe I'll be able to help him with his anger…after all he was the one, who was there for me, when I first turned. He's the reason why I'm still, well, undead. I owe him this."

"You would really do that?"

"Yes, in fact I should probably get him away from Mystic Falls as soon as possible. Before he does something stupid. We've got another week of vacation, so nobody will be missing me at school. And Matt can handle me being MIA for some time. I always wanted to go to New York. Or LA. Or Vegas. Then again, hitting the big city is maybe not such a good idea in his condition. Don't worry, I'll figure something out."

When Elena realized that Caroline meant what she said, she hugged her friend fiercely. An immense weight was being lifted off of her shoulders and she was unbelievably thankful for Caroline's idea. She whispered:

"Thank you so much. I know that, deep down, he's still a good man, but he's really lost at the moment."

The two girls parted soon after that, but not before Caroline made Elena promise to spill every single detail about her date.

Elena spent the rest of the day with Jenna, having a much needed long talk with her. In the evening, she got ready for her date with Damon, standing in front of the closet for more than an hour. Damon hadn't given her any details about where they would go and Elena was completely unsure on what to wear. After leaving a trail of outfits scattered all over the floor, she picked a skinny jeans and a violet colored top. Damon didn't strike her as the fancy-restaurant-type anyway. Additionally, she was downright nervous and couldn't help but be scared that Damon had maybe changed his mind about them. Due to her sweaty palms even putting on make-up became a difficult task.

Her heart stopped for a beat or two, the moment she heard Damon's blue cameo pull up in front of the house. Elena observed the tall, dark and handsome vampire through the window as he strolled towards the porch. He suddenly lifted his head, locking his blue eyes with hers. Within seconds Damon was sitting on the roof right outside of Elena's window, a perfect smirk illuminating his face. Elena snickered and holding the window close, she said, knowing that Damon could hear her:

"Be a gentleman and come through the front door."

Damon tilted his head to the side and answered:

"You want to risk Jenna getting a heart attack?"

"You're just going to have to convince her of your good intentions."

Showing Elena his fangs, Damon smugly replied:

"Who said my intentions towards you are good?"

Elena gave him a fake pout:

"Go through the front door or forget the date. Your choice."

Damon seemed to be rather amused by Elena's stubborn attitude and in one quick movement, he forced the window open. He jumped into the room and grabbed Elena's waist with both hands:

"You shouldn't threaten a vampire, you know. They don't take being stood up very well."

Then he suddenly turned serious and kissing her forehead gently, he inquired:

"How did it go?"

Elena immediately knew he was referring to the breakup and burying her head in his chest, she whispered:

"As bad as expected."

"That's what Caroline said too. She left with him this afternoon by the way."

"Good, he needs a friend right now. I just hope he's going to make it through this."

Damon wanted to reassure her, but the lie got stuck in his throat. They were both very much aware of the fact that Stefan had a lot of demons he needed to face and that losing Elena was not helping him. However, this was not the only problem bothering Elena:

"Damon, what about Katherine? Or Isobel and John? I mean, it's not like those problems are just suddenly gone."

"No, probably not. But we'll face them when the time comes. For now, the evil trio has left Mystic Falls and we don't have to worry about them until they return."

Elena could help but let a bitter laugh escape her lips:

"John is going to hate this."

"You mean us being together?"

Elena nodded and tightened her hold around his body. Damon carelessly remarked:

"Well, I can always finish what Katherine started. I'll be sure to cut his fingers and his head off."

This statement earned Damon a hard slap on the arm and Elena stepped away from him. She grabbed her purse and said, even though she had a hard time keeping her face serious:

"Let's go…before I change my mind."

Damon snickered and before Elena knew what was happening, his lips were on hers. This kiss was different from the first one they had shared on the porch. With the first kiss, they had both acknowledged their feelings for each other. This time they wanted to explore each other and revel in the feeling of completion. Elena's out-of-control heartbeat became like music in Damon's ears, only disrupted by the sounds of pleasure and love emanating from both of them.

After he had turned Elena's make-up and perfectly straitened hair into a mess, Damon said:

"Okay, then. Let's leave the past behind us and let's go make new memories."

Seconds later, they were seated in his car and driving out of Mystic Falls. As soon as her heart rate allowed her to speak again, Elena asked:

"So, where are you taking me?"

Damon took Elena's hand and replied, the arrogant half-smile back on his face:

"That's for me to know and for you to dot, dot, dot."


End file.
